Street Livin'
by Disturbed Courtney
Summary: It all began with a young, homeless Remy finding a small runaway girl and exploded from there. Chapter 27 posted.
1. The Girl

**Street Livin'**

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Hiya, once again. This is my first AU and hopefully you will like it enough to encourage me to continue! wink, wink, nudge, nudge Enjoy!

Remy stalked down the New Orleans streets, checking around for a place to get some food. Any food. He'd barely eaten a thing in the last two days due to the amount of cops lingering about, and he was getting desperate. Storeowners were becoming more alert to the young thief and it was making it quite hard for him to steal anything as easy as it used to be. Of course, he would still try. He had to.

Sneaking his way down an alley beside one of the many Cajun eateries in the area, his sensitive red on black eyes helped him see trashcans and stray boxes scattered about. Last thing he needed was tripping over one and having himself caught.

Soon he was right next to the back door, pressed against the wall. The scents of spices wafted through the air and made his mouth water. After controlling the now constant rumbling of his stomach, Remy waited for his chance. Peeking in, he saw the cook look away to hand in an order and accept a new one. His mistake was leaving a steaming bowl of crab gumbo on the counter closest to the door. Remy grinned and cracked open the door just enough to slide his small lanky form in. A quick moment later, Remy was out the door, dinner in his hands. He was on his way out of the alley when he finally heard the shouting of the cook behind him.

Remy barked out a quick triumphant laugh and carefully ran to his safe house, which was about five blocks from the restaurant. It was an abandoned office building near the slums of New Orleans. More homeless people occupied other room, but mainly it was a silent agreement to leave each other alone and not draw the cops in.

Remy had claimed one of the offices on the third floor. His neighbors on the floor kept to themselves, much as he did. He did see a few on occasion, like Mr. Beneau, who was probably one of the nicest guys Remy had ever met. He would give the boy any extra scraps of food if he could spare them and told him the best places to snatch things from and what places to avoid. Remy hadn't seen him around for awhile, but it didn't bother him much. Beneau was probably moving on, as most of them did. Remy, himself, in only three short years of living like this, had moved at least 15 times. Once a place just stopped feeling safe, he moved. He was pretty comfortable where he was right now though. And if Mr. Beneau had moved on, Remy wasn't surprised he didn't say goodbye. You just didn't try to get attached.

Shaking some spilt gumbo off his hands, he set the bowl down and went looking for a spoon. Some would think a homeless 13-year-old wouldn't have the luxury of eating with utensils, but not Remy. He refused to eat like an animal in these conditions and that was the sole purpose of lifting some very nice silver china from a retailer a couple months before hand.

After retrieving just that, he sat down before the bowl and smiled. He said a quick prayer and dove in. The gumbo had cooled down considerably, but it didn't both Remy at all. He ate it quickly and went to sleep with a full tummy and a wide content grin on his face.

Remy woke the next morning, ready for a new day. He got up from his makeshift bed of a raggy blanket and crumpled newspaper and stretched. Shaking his head to fully awake himself, he walked out of his room and down the hall. It was one of the only two stilly miraculously working bathrooms in the whole building. After waiting five to 10 minutes for Ms. Jenebroux to finish up, he went in and cleaned himself up as best he could. He scrubbed his face with the hard, mineralized water. After drying his face with the bottom of his shirt, he looked at his reflection in the grimy mirror. Red on black eyes stared back at him, mocking him.

They were why he was on his own. First his own mother abandoned him and after spending countless years unwanted in an orphanage right outside of the city border, he just ran away. He wasn't sure if anyone cared that he was gone. As far as he knew and experienced, no one would.

He gathered his things and let the next person use the bathroom. Another day, another chance to survive. Donning a pair of sunglasses, he left his home and set out for the day.

He found himself in the French Quarter, which was beginning to buzz with life at the hour of eleven. Remy did love the Saturday mornings at the Quarter. He smirked to himself. Perfect time for quick cash. He slinked about the crowd, his hands slipping into pockets and purses undetected.

After gathering a decent amount of wallets and loose cash, he sprinted to a nearby alley. He started counting his 'winnings' for the time. Seeing he had a good hundred or so, he decided to treat himself to some new clothes. With a victorious grin to himself, he ditched the now empty wallets and stuffed the cash in his pocket. He started walking out, checking for anyone that may have seen him rush in. Seeing no one suspicious of him, he adjusted his sunglasses and took a step to walk out.

He froze though. From behind, there was a tiny whimper. Remy normally ignored the crying of other homeless people, but this one sounded so… young. Too young. He listened for it again and when it came, he followed the sound to a collection of trashcans. He peered over the lids and saw a tiny girl. She couldn't have been more than 8. She felt a shadow loom over her and looked up. She saw Remy and her red rimmed green eyes went wide with fear. "Get away!" She cried out, scrambling out of her hiding spot.

Remy caught a glimpse of many things as she scrambled up. A distinctive white blotch struck out in her auburn hair, which was grubby from many days of going unwashed. But more importantly, he saw bruises over her frail body, including a yellow on in the mid of healing on her cheek.

"Wait!" He shouted to her. "I'm not gon' hurt y'."

"How do Ah know that? You could be just like him!" She snapped over her shoulder. She ran to the dead end of the alley. Pressed against the wall, her chest heaved up and down with each of her ragged breaths.

"P'tite, I'm not gon' hurt y'. I promise," he said softly, taking very tentative steps towards her.

She sank down, her knees giving out from under her. "Please," she whispered, tears threatening to fall.

Remy finally made it up to her and knelt down next to her. "Don't touch me," she snarled.

"I know." He sighed deeply. "Y' too young t' be out here on y' own dough."

"Ah ran away from him. Let Momma deal with him now." She growled through clenched teeth, glaring to the ground. Remy watched her, knowing she wasn't speaking directly to him.

He cleared his throat and softly asked her, "How long y' been out here?"

She looked up, eyes shining with tears. "Four days."

"Y' eat at all?" She shook her head. "Merde." He thought for a moment. "Alright. C'mon." He stood up, offering his tattered-gloved hand to her. She hesitantly took it and he helped her up. She instantly let go of it though when she was steady. "Jus' follow b'hind me. Easy t' get lost out dere." She nodded. He started walking and the girl followed obediently.

Remy insisted taking her hand as they walked through the crowds of people in the Quarter. Once again, the girl reluctantly slid her hand in his. He guided her through all the people, making his way to the only place he'd actually pay to eat. The owner was kind to everyone and gave the less fortunate community discounts. Remy didn't want to steal from him so he gladly paid.

He and the girl took a seat in one of the booths near the kitchen. He could hear her stomach growling with such an intensity he thought he was going to shake. "Order what y' want, but don't overdo it. One, I'm on a budget," he smiled at that one. "An' two, if y' fill y' stomach up too quick, it'll just come right back up." She nodded wordlessly and looked to the menu, hungry eyes checking every possibility. Remy was just going to order a cheeseburger with the works, since it'd been so long since he'd had it, or any type of red meat.

A waitress came up, setting down some glasses of water, and asked for their orders. The girl pointed in the menu to Remy what she wanted. "My sister has laryngitis," he explained to the waitress before repeating the order. He figured the girl just didn't want to talk to anyone. He was surprised that he'd gotten all that he did from her in the alley.

The waitress left them to take in their orders. Remy turned from watching the waitress and saw the girl staring straight at him. "What?"

"Thank you."

A smile tugged at his lips. "Y' welcome." A silence sat between them for a long moment. "So… what's y' story?"

She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. "Ah ran away," she said shakily.

"Not ready t' talk 'bout it?" She shook her head. "S'kay. I was de same way when I first started out. But den again, I didn' have no body t' talk t'."

"When was that?"

"T'ree years ago."

"Why?"

"Sick o' no one wantin' me." He wasn't going to tell her everything if she wasn't going to either.

"Why wouldn't anyone want ya?" She asked innocently.

He was almost tempted to take off his sunglasses and let his eyes speak for themselves. But he settled for a shrug instead.

"Oh."

"Y' not from 'round here, dough. I can hear it."

"Mississippi. He brought me here on one a' his business trips." She spit out 'he' as if it hurt to say it.

"Y' pere?" A questioning look. "Y' daddy?"

"Step-dad." She shivered. "Mah real daddy died when Ah was a baby."

"I'm sorry."

"Ah don't need yoah pity foh him," she spat. She instantly felt bad, since this boy was probably the only human to have ever treated her with selfless kindness. So she decided to continue. "Momma got remarried when Ah was five. The last five years… they've been bad." Remy's face stayed emotionless, but he was surprised to hear that she was actually 10 years old. She was so much smaller and thinner than an average girl of that age would be.

"Dear ol' Victor," she whispered harshly as she tored a piece of her napkin off. "He did nothin' but steal from Momma, which drove her ta drinkin'. Didn't even care about me after too long. An' then he started… doin' stuff…" She trailed off, physically unable to say the next words. Remy just sat there in disbelief.

"Momma knew the whole time. Didn't do a thing. Sometimes when he was done with me he would go an' beat the tar outta her. So neither of us could get out. But Ah felt no need ta save her too. She only cared 'bout herself." She took in a deep breath and it shuddered through her bones. "Ah figured Ah would be in better shape if Ah was on mah own than with them."

Remy didn't know what to say. All he had seen in his life was lack of love. This girl had been abused in probably every way possible. She was still a child and had seen how dark the world can be. It wasn't like he could go to her side of the table and hold her to comfort her like he'd seen people do before. One, she most likely wouldn't respond too well to physical contact of that degree, and two, he simply didn't have it in him. But then, he got an idea. "I'll take care o' y'," he said suddenly.

She squinted her emerald eyes at him. "What?" She asked, almost astonished.

"I'll help y' get used t' de streets. Y' can stay wit' me till y' get a handle on t'ings."

"You would do that foh me?" Her eyes now twinkled with hope.

"It's up t' you." He smiled warmly.

A small smile appeared on her face. The first Remy had seen from her and the first she had made in a long time. "Sure. Thank you again." She paused, staring at him through his sunglasses. "Why are ya doin' this? Ah mean, ya coulda just left me in the alley like the other twenty people that've gone through there in the last couple days. But, Ah dunno. Ah guess Ah'm not used ta havin' someone care about me."

"Y' pro'bly won' understand dis, but I need t' have someone t' care for. T' make sure I'm not heartless when I grow up because no one ever loved me. An' I can' watch someone else not be cared for when I c'n help."

She nodded, absorbing his words. "Ya're very mature foh thinkin' like that."

Remy grinned. "I'll take dat as a compliment." The waitress then came back with their food.

"I see y' sister's feelin' better," she noticed, smiling.

"She drank some water. T'anks," Remy lied with a smirk. The girl took the cue and picked up the still full cup and sipped. The waitress's smile spread wider as well.

"Just let me know if y' need anyt'in' else, kids." Then she sauntered away.

When the waitress was out of sight, the girl spoke up. "What's yoah name?" She stuffed a fork full of mashed potatoes in her mouth.

"Remy." He took a bite of his cheeseburger, cheese and juice dripping down the sides, just the way he liked it. After swallowing, he asked the same of her.

She hesitated. "Bethany."

"Dat's pretty."

She shivered. "Not when ya think you're gonna get 'bad-touched' ev'ry time a drunk man says it." She didn't feel the need to elaborate, but in her head, a voice taunted her. _'C'mon Bethie._ _Ya know it feels good. That's mah girl.'_ She quickly took a bite of her Cajun spiced chicken, swallowing as fast as she had put it in her mouth. Regretting it immediately due to the spiciness, she drank a big gulp of water.

"Oh… well den, y' can be my nameless rogue protégé."

"Or… Ah can be Rogue," she suggested with a glint to her eye. It suited what she wanted her new life to be, scoundrel, devious, alive. Nothing like the victim she was back in Caldecott.

He laughed and raised his water glass. "T' new beginnin's, p'tite."

She grinned and raised her own glass. "Cheers."

End of Chapter 1.

Whatcha think? Worthy of continuance?


	2. Learning

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 2

After lunch, breakfast, whatever the meal meant to the two, they set off to get some supplies for Rogue. It changed Remy's original plan of getting some new clothes, but he could just steal them later if needed. Why didn't he just always steal? He didn't know the answer either. He just figured he wasn't completely the devil child that everyone thought him to be because of his strange eyes. But he didn't want to spend all of that day's 'earnings', since he always saved just a little bit each time. He wasn't going to stay like this forever, so he had his own savings hidden among his safe house.

He and Rogue walked down the street, trying to blend in. Rogue's clothes were in better shape than Remy's, but her jeans and sweater were matted with mud in some spots. Remy's older jeans had a few holes and the heels were tattered from being stepped on. He wore a dingy, yellow tinted T-shirt, but covered it by a worn out brown duster that he'd stolen from a coatroom in a bar. It was, by far, his favorite piece of clothing in his limited wardrobe.

"We're gon' have t' get y' at least anot'er sweater… gon' hold off on jeans dough. Dey'll last a long time." She nodded along from beside him. He made a checklist aloud. "Blanket, some ot'er clothes t' wear if y' washin' y' main ones, some more soap an' such…"

"Remy?"

"Oui?" He stopped walking to look back at her to where she was peering curiously into a pet store window.

"What was it like foh you when ya first started out?"

"A lot like you. But I learned ev'ryt'in' from trial an' error. Real lonely too."

"Did ya evah talk ta anyone?"

"Sometimes. But mainly, when y're on y' own, y're on y' own."

"Oh." She caught up to him. "Well, ya got me now," she smiled encouragingly.

"I know." He grinned back. "Y' ready t' shop?"

She nodded happily and they walked into the thrift store.

Inside, Rogue watched as Remy walked up and down the aisles, picking up random stuff. She actually hated shopping. When her mother would actually take her out and shopping, they would be in boutiques. Rogue remembered scrunching her nose when they would pass the perfume and whining incessantly when she would be forced to try on twenty different outfits. Those places drove her insane. So why did it feel so wrong to be here then? She figured it was because she had been using her father's inheritance money on everything for her and now she was depending on a stranger. It wasn't the store at all. She pledged to herself, as Remy picked up a bar of soap, that she would make it up to him. Somehow.

"See anyt'in' dat I missed?" He asked as she walked up to him. She looked in his basket.

"Umm… new underwear?" She weakly smiled.

"Right. F'got dat detail f'a girl… y' pick 'em out, eh?"

She nodded and ran quickly to get them. She grabbed a generic three-pack and met up with Remy again. "Thanks."

"Don' worry 'bout it. Let's go check out."

They walked to the cashier. After giving the two a strange look, the clerk took their things and started to ring them up. The order came up to a bit over forty dollars, leaving Remy with twenty-five from the day.

On their way out, Remy said, "We'll get y' some real new clothes t'morrow, okay, Rogue?" He had gotten her a simple T-shirt with boxer shorts to sleep in so he could wash the mud off her original clothes.

"That's fine," a smile creeping onto her face with the mention of her new name. "Ah really appreciate ya doin' this. More than you'll evah know."

"It's jus' gon' take some gettin' used t' on my part."

"Ah understand. Jus' let me know if Ah'm doin' somethin' wrong." She shifted the shopping bag to over her shoulder. He gave a curt nod and they walked some more in silence.

Dusk was settling in and Remy pointed to the office building coming up on the road. "Dat's goin' t' be y' home for a while."

A wistful gleam came to her eyes. "Home," she repeated. A brief flash came to her mind of the day her and her mom moved in to Victor's house. It was about a month after they had gotten married. Rogue had been ecstatic, since she never really knew her biological father and this was her moment to have a real family.

She was in her room unpacking when Victor came in to check in on her. She grinned at his entrance. "Look!" She held up her favorite stuffed animal, a little teddy bear with angel wings. "She can go right on mah new bed!" Giggling happily, she set it right on her pillow. "See!"

"That's great, honey." He sat on the bed next to where she still had a huge smile on her face. "Listen, I have a couple small requests since you're in mah house now, okay, Baby?"

"Sure!" She climbed onto the bed next to him.

"One. No stayin' up past 8:30 for li'l girls like you." She nodded firmly along with his suddenly stern voice. She thought it was a game. "Two. Ya hafta call me Daddy."

"But, Ah do already."

"All the time."

She blinked a couple times. "Okay… Daddy."  
"That's mah girl." She expected him to ruffle her hair like she'd seen on TV so many times. But instead, he squeezed her face with one large hand so she could look him directly in the eyes. It was then she noticed how dark they really were. "One more thing, Bethie." Rogue didn't say a thing. She felt his other hand warm on her small thigh, but it did nothing but send chills up her spine. She glanced down, and he shook her head roughly. "Keep ya eyes on me."

Her lip trembled slightly, but she nodded in his hold. She wanted to scream. This didn't feel right. At all. A tiny squeak escaped her mouth and his eyes narrowed viciously towards her own. "Ya don't say a word about this, an' me an' you'll get along just fine, Bethie," he growled. Then he let go of her face and got off the bed, heading for the door. "Welcome home." She watched him leave, the whole situation not sinking in the least bit. She grabbed her angel bear and squeezed him tight against her chest.

She murmured to herself, shivering. "Home."

"Why'd y' jus' say dat twice, Rogue?" She didn't respond to him. "Rogue?"

She finally heard his voice and turned. "Oh. Ah guess Ah still hafta get used to that name," she said with a small laugh.

He wasn't impressed. "Dat doesn't explain y' sudden spacin' out."

She watched her feet as they kept walking towards the building. "Ah was just rememberin' somethin'."

"Care t' say what?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

Remy decided it was best to drop it. Luckily, they had just reached the entrance of the building. "Here we are." Deciding it best if he didn't use the word 'home' again, he just held the door open for her and followed her inside. "We're on de t'ird floor." Rogue nodded, keeping awfully quiet since thinking back to that particular moment. She slowed down so Remy could take lead.

They walked up the stairs, Rogue quickly losing energy. She really had only had the one meal, and it wasn't holding her up much. Thankfully, Remy had bought things at the store so they didn't have to go stealing. Remy knew she wouldn't be up to it and he didn't want to leave her alone, so it was better this way.

He swung open the door to his room and let Rogue walk ahead of him inside. It wasn't the biggest place in the world, but Rogue didn't expect much more. There was really only room for Remy to sleep with a bit more room for walking, but that was about it. She smiled anyway. This was her new home. And there was no Victor to tell her otherwise.

Remy dropped the bags in a corner and began ruffling around in them. He pulled out Rogue's blanket, which was a simple blue flannel one. It would keep her warm enough in the fall nights. Next he pulled out her sleeping clothes and then the soaps. He turned to her, where she was still glancing around the room, taking in every aspect.

"Y' okay?"

She glanced over her shoulder to him, white forelock caught by her eyes. "It's perfect."

"Glad y' like it." He smiled proudly. "But here y' go." He handed her the new clothes and soap. "Dere's a bathroom down de hall. Dere really shouldn' be anyone in dere since people are usually out now gettin' some grub, but just knock, y' know." Rogue nodded. "An' I'll get dinner ready." She smiled and almost skipped out of the room. Remy just watched her go, still not understanding how quickly her mood changed back and forth from almost giddy to depressed and then back again. "Once 'gain, mus' be a girl t'ing."

Rogue washed her face and hair in the sink, feeling much better now that days of grime were off her skin. She looked at her appearance much as Remy had that morning. Her green eyes had something they hadn't had in a long time. She couldn't place a word on it, but it was bordering on happy. She smiled wryly to herself, wringing her hair out over the sink. She looked in the mirror again, eyes falling on the white strands that framed her face. She didn't remember when they appeared, but she heard many things about losing pigment in your hair through traumatic experiences. That was a good reason enough for her.

She finished up in the bathroom and went back to Remy's room. He was busy readying the sandwiches he'd bought. He glanced up as she entered the room. She looked much better than before. Her hair was a little stringy since she hadn't brushed it so Remy handed over his brush so she wouldn't look so shaggy when it fully dried. She sat down next to him and brushed out her long hair.

"D'ya want de ham an' cheese or Italian?"

"Ham an' cheese," she responded, now done with her hair. She pulled her new blanket around her to keep warm. He handed her the sandwich, along with a bag of chips they would be sharing. Then Rogue noticed something. "Ya know, we're indoors now an' it's gettin' dark… you can take off the sunglasses."

He stopped mid-bite of his sandwich. He chewed what he had in his mouth slowly and then gulped it down. Last thing he needed was to frighten her with his eyes.

"Y' sure?"

"Why not? They're just eyes."

Remy sighed deeply and pulled them off, keeping his eyes shut. "Dere. Off."

"Was that so hard?" She smiled at him.

He turned his head to her and opened his eyes. "Oui, it was."

She gasped and instantly regretted it. It looked like his heart dropped down to his toes. It all made sense now why no one ever wanted him. And in her own way, she had rejected him too. "Remy, Ah'm sorry… Ah, um, it's not what Ah was expectin'…" She scolded herself internally. _'Nice job, River Rat.'_ "It doesn't make a difference though."

He just looked back to his food and munched on it wordlessly. Rogue glanced around, trying to figure out what to do. He actually reached for the glasses again, but Rogue leaned over and knocked them out of his hand. "Don't wear 'em. You're great without 'em."

He glanced to her again, his red on black eyes dim. Rogue caught him straight in the eyes, her green ones piercing. "Remy, Ah don't care what color yoah eyes are. You're still the nicest person Ah've evah met an' somethin' as stupid as eye color won't make me change mah opinion of ya at all."

"Y' mean it?"

A cheerful gleam came back to her emerald eyes. "O' course."

An equally bright grin came to his face. "T'ank you. Y' have no idea how much dat means t' me."

"Like ya said, we're gonna hafta help each other. Ah'm just doin' mah part." Before she realized what she was doing, she had leaned in and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Remy sat, almost stunned at the motion. Slowly, he twisted so he could return the hug. He felt warm to Rogue, and from the inside, not just like he had just been doing something evil to her and was wiping off some sweat. She shivered and Remy held her tighter.

She crawled into his lap and buried her head into his chest. He just held her there and soon after, he felt a dampness on her shirt. "P'tite, y' okay?"

She looked up, new tears brimming her eyes. "Ah haven't been held foh awhile. It's jus'-"

"Shh, me neit'er. Go 'head." She nodded and laid her head back on his chest. Unconsciously, he started stroking her hair soothingly, willing her to relax and fall asleep. She needed it.

After a couple minutes of silence, he looked down on her, and as expected, she had fallen into content slumber. He shifted a bit so he could lie her down. She curled up on the floor as Remy laid her blanket on her. Smiling to himself, he wrapped up her sandwich so she could eat it later. Then, he wrapped himself in his own blanket and finished his dinner, keeping watch over her all the while.

TBC…


	3. Sleeping Never Comes Easy

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 3

Quick note: some people have commented on the maturity of both of the characters… the way I see it with Rogue: you go through a traumatic childhood like hers, you either come out 2 ways. Catatonic or how she did, a girl with some hope left for the world. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I prefer the way I did it, because I wouldn't have much of a story the other way… And with Remy, umm, shrug just go with it? Please… for me?

Remy finally fell into a restless sleep after watching Rogue sleep for some time. He was leaned up against the wall, head lulled back uncomfortably. But sleep conquered him.

He was running through a haze of red, shadows everywhere. Everyone he ran by had a sadistic grin to his or her features, watching him run in terror. He stopped running when he came up to a building. He involuntarily walked inside, like an invisible force was pulling him in. When he got inside, the room he was in was pitch black. So dark that his light sensitive eyes could barely pick up a trace of anything surrounding him. Suddenly, the room flashed with light, searing his eyes. He recoiled in pain, and held an arm over his eyes as they adjusted.

When he was able to look again, he lowered his arm. Squinting his eyes against the painful light, all he saw was fire and explosions. The wall he had unconsciously leaned against began to glow as well. He reflexively jumped away before it, too, exploded. He surveyed wide-eyed what he had done. He pulled himself into a ball, careful not to touch anything else. The room once darkened again and he was alone. He glanced around nervously, small, short breaths escaping his mouth. One moment he shut his eyes, and when he opened them, he was enveloped with a green aura.

"Remy?" Rogue gently roused him by prodding his shoulder.

His eyes snapped open, now realizing that the green he saw were Rogue's piercing eyes. His head whipped around the room, trying to recognize his surroundings. He was home. There were no fires, no explosions. He was leaning against a full wall without pieces of debris falling on him.

"You sounded like you were havin' a nightmare. Ah wanted ta wake ya up befoh ya got too scared." She smiled softly.

Once controlling his breathing, he looked her straight in the eyes, but remained relaxed. "T'ank you, cherie."

"Cherie?" She repeated, confused.

"Did I say dat? Umm, it's kinda like de ot'er name I've been callin' y', 'p'tite', but diff'rent." He shrugged.

She mirrored his shrug. "Okay. Just curious. Ah like it." Her smile returned.

"I'll remember dat." His eyes shifted to the window where it was still presently dark. "What time d'ya t'ink it is?"

"Ah dunno. Ah'm hungry though." She rubbed her stomach.

He reached over to his left a bit and found her sandwich from the night before. "Here y' go."

"Thanks." She unwrapped it and ate it slowly. "Hey, Remy?" He looked to her in acknowledgement. "What did ya dream about?"

"I dunno. It was all too confusin' t' put in t' words."

She nodded in understanding. "Ah get those all the time. Mainly flashes of things." She shivered and pulled her blanket closer, nibbling again on her sandwich.

Remy glanced to the wall once again, afraid if he fully leaned against it, it would explode like in his dream. Once convinced it would do nothing, he relaxed against it again, ready to fall back asleep.

"Remy?"

He sighed. "Oui, Rogue?"

She heard the exasperation in his voice. "Nevahmind. Go ta sleep. Sorry."

He opened his eyes and tilted his head so he could look at her directly. "Non, go 'head."

"Ah was just wonderin' what Victor's goin' through now. If he's even noticed Ah'm gone or if he went home happy because he finally got rid o' me."

"Maybe it's better dat y' didn' know. Eit'er way could hurt y' in de end."

"Ah guess." She silently chewed on her sandwich again. Remy closed his eyes and relaxed again, on the verge of sleep.

Two minutes later, "Remy?"

Remy snapped his head up. "Yes?"

"Do you want the floor? It'll be more comfy foh ya." She scooted over to the wall to make room for him to move.

"Y' don' mind?"

"'Course not. This is yoah home. Ah'm not takin' yoah bed." She stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"T'ank you."

"Welcome. G'night, sugah." She watched as Remy snuggled back into what could only be his normal sleeping position on the floor. Her munching on the sandwich was soon droned out by Remy's deep breathing as he had finally fallen back to a peaceful sleep. Rogue finished her sandwich and then curled up against the wall, unable to sleep sitting up. She longed for her angel teddy bear, wishing for something to cuddle against. She grabbed the corner of her blanket and bunched it together to hug as a substitution, but it didn't even come close.

She lifted her head up to look at Remy once again. She thought for a split second about making him her angel teddy bear for the night, but couldn't trust herself to do it. So she laid back down, her small body racking with shivers until she fell into a dreamless sleep.

TBC…

(I know this part was short. I'm blocking like nothing else and I really wanted to get something out to the people waiting. Hope this holds you over till I get some more going.)


	4. Shopping Turns for the Worse

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 4

Remy woke up that morning with a smile on his face. He hadn't had any more nightmares and he was comfortable as well. He sat up and stretched, groaning very loudly to get the sleepiness out of his tired bones. He glanced over to Rogue, who had her eyes open but she was still lying down. "Mornin', p'tite."

Her eyes looked up to his smiling face. "Hi."

"Y' sleep okay?" She only shrugged. "Rogue, c'mere." He slid over to her and pulled her up into his lap. She didn't struggle, but she didn't look comfortable either. "What's wrong?"

"Ah dunno. Just one of those mornin's, Ah guess," she sighed. She pulled out of his lap and curled up in her blanket again. "What're we doin' today?"

"First, I'm goin' t' clean up. Den… it's up t' you."

"What do ya mean?"

"Well… I c'n start teachin' y' how t' rip people off…" That brought a smile to her face. "We mainly have t' do dat since we used up all our money yesterday."  
She nodded. "Sounds great. Are we gonna get somethin' ta eat too?"

"Oui. I have a couple dollars t' spare, but y' gon' need t' do dis on a full stomach." He stood up. "I'll be back in a few." He left the room, shutting the door behind him. Rogue watched him leave, and then gathered her things so she could change. She caught a glimpse of the street outside and thought she saw a familiar red pick-up truck. Her eyes widened with fear and she ducked down beside the window so she couldn't be seen by anyone outside. She counted silently to herself to ten and peeked outside again. It was gone. _You're imaginin' things now. You're free. No worries._ She tried convincing herself, but it didn't fully work. She finished changing into her now semi-clean clothes and waited for Remy.

He walked her down to the Quarter again, right by the alley that he had found her. "Okay, cherie. Dis is what we're gon' do. I'm gon' go out, do my usual run. Jus' watch if y' c'n from dis angle." She nodded, munching on a doughnut they had bought from a bakery along the way. She insisted on chocolate milk for both of them too. Remy gave in, since he hadn't had any in forever. He'd finished his breakfast before they had gotten to the Quarter.

He double checked his sunglasses on his nose and slid out, merging in with the building crowd. Rogue watched as best she could. He quickly slipped into coat pockets and dipped into purses. No more than five minutes later, he was back, pockets overflowing with wallets and loose change. "I love Sundays," he grinned.

They walked near the back of the alley, where he emptied his pockets. He had done pretty well for the day. After counting it out, he had about $150. He gathered up the wallets and dumped them into a nearby trashcan. "Why didn't you save anythin' else?" Rogue asked curiously.

"A thirteen year old kid ain' gon' get anythin' wit' credit cards. So I figure I'll leave dem dere for someone else t' use." He rolled the money up and stuffed it into his duster pocket. "Dat is… if dey aren' canceled by de time someone gets t' dem."

"Ohh." Rogue walked beside him as they emerged from the alley. "What're we gonna do now?"

"Shoppin' sound good? Y' still need anot'er outfit an' I need some stuff m'self."

"That's great. We should still have some left over foh dinner raht?"

"Oui. Did y' see how I did ev'ryt'in'?"

"Yeah… ya did everythin' like a snake. Loved it." She smiled in admiration. "When do Ah get a chance?"

"Maybe later t'night when it's even more crowded. Last night would've been best since dis place was filled with de Saturday night partiers, but feedin' y' was more important."

"Aww, okay. Ah can wait." She mock-pouted but then it faded. "Have you ever gotten caught?"

He shrugged as they walked outside of the dark alley once again. "Not'in' too serious. Some guy caught me goin' in t' his pocket once an' threatened t' beat me bad. Anot'er guy dough, came outta nowhere an' told de guy t' lay off."

"Whoa. That was nice of him."

"Umm, not really. Turns out I had stole from dat guy too. Took me t' an alley an' beat de hell outta me. Knocked my glasses off, saw de eyes an' ran like mad. T'ought I was possessed or somet'in'."

Rogue just walked silent for a moment, eyes wide but blank. Then she looked up to him. "How long ago was that?"

"Couple months after I ran away. Jus' startin' out so o' course I made a mistake." He shrugged it off.

"What happened after that?"

"I t'ink I just stayed dere f'r de night. I can' remember. He knocked me down wit' a nice hit t' de head and kicked me a lot. Pro'bly had a concussion."

"Did ya go to a hospital or anythin'?" He only shook his head. "Wow… Ah'm sorry foh bringin' up."

"Don' worry about it. Jus' shows dat y' not invincible out here."

"Ah see that now." She sighed. "You don't wanna be out here fohever, do you?"

"'Course not. I'm gon' get outta dis. Jus' don' know when." He pushed open the door to the clothing store they had walked too. He held the door open for Rogue and followed her in. "I'm savin' f'it. Jus' don' know how I'm gon' keep it up, y' know? I've got de school education of a 10 year old-"

"But you've learned so much just from livin' on yoah own. Who needs the school stuff ta survive?" She said, trying to make him feel better.

"Dat doesn't get y' hired f' jobs, p'tite."

"Ah can teach ya then."

He looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"Ah have a brother who goes to this fancy institute up north. He's, umm, special, but sometimes he would come down ta check in on me because he knew the situation just from guessin'. But, he used ta read ta me an' teach me more than school would. So, Ah can teach you!" She grinned, happy she thought of another way to help.

Remy missed half of the sentence. "How is he special?"

Rogue gulped. "He's… well, he's blue and furry… like a demon. But he's the sweetest guy you could evah meet!"

"He's blue?"

She nodded. "Like Momma is when she isn't actin'."

"Actin'."

"Yeah… she can change in t' anythin'. Befoh she married Victor, she would play princess with me. An' she liked ta turn into this beautiful woman, not that she wasn't beautiful all the time, with long blonde hair an' puffy white dress. An' she would grant me wishes…" She trailed off, on the brink of tears. "She never played it with me after Victor." She sniffled.

"I'm sorry, Rogue." He whispered, though secretly he was jealous. He never had a mom that tucked him in at night and most definitely he didn't have a mother that would change into anything to play with him. He still was in awe about the mention of blue. "I'm still tryin' t' understand… she's blue?"

"Yeah," she answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Her skin is blue."

"So she's a mutant?"

"If that's what you wanna call her, yeah, Ah guess she is," she replied almost defensively. "You're probably one too with yoah eyes, but who knows if that'll be it."

"If dat'll be it?" He really hadn't heard of anyone with a 'problem' like his.

She nodded. "You might be able ta fly or somethin'. Maybe you'll be able to make yoahself invisible! That would be so cool!"

"Are y' one?"

She shrugged. "Too early ta tell. An' mah daddy was human from what Momma told me so Ah don't know how much mah chances are."

He just stared at her for a moment. "How do y' know so much about this?"

"Kurt told me all of this stuff when he would visit. Ah haven't seen him in a year though." She said sadly. "Ah really wish Ah could see him."

He smiled. "Maybe dat's what we'll work for; a trip up north. He might be able t' help us out when we figure out what we're gon' do wit' ourselves."

Her mouth dropped open and she almost jumped. "That would be so great!" She drew the attention of a couple shoppers so Remy calmed her down. "Let's focus on now dough, eh?"

She nodded. "Sure. Anythin'." He walked her over to the children's section so she could pick out a pair of jeans. She grabbed a couple to try on after Remy okayed them for their durability. While she ran to the dressing room, Remy wandered over to the boy's section and grabbed a couple solid colored t-shirts and a new pair of jeans. They were thick so they would last, but he knew he would be able to move in them. Grinning to himself, he hung them over his arm and went to check on Rogue.

"P'tite? How y' doin' in dere?"

"Ah'm good. These are a li'l big."

"Dat's okay. Y' c'n grow in t' dem."

He heard slight shuffling and then she was in front of him, jeans hanging quite low on her hips and overlapping her feet by a couple inches. "Oh, Ah'll grow inta these?" She laughed.

He held back his laughter, seeing as how she had most likely lost weight since the last time she went shopping. Next on the agenda for them, he thought to himself, more food. _Gotta bulk her back up_. "I'll go get y' de next size down." He walked off.

"Maybe the next two sizes," she whispered sullenly as she treaded her way back into the dressing room.

"We should go to a library," Rogue suggested as they walked down the street, done with their clothes shopping. "Ah wanna get some books ta read. Better than buyin' anyway."

"Maybe. Y' wan' get somet'in' t' eat, dough? Somet'in' small, but y' need t' eat more since y' already smaller dan y' should be."

She glance down to her small frame. "Ah guess. Like some fruit or somethin'?"

"Yeah, dat's perfect." He watched as she shifted her bags between her two arms. "Here, I'll carry it. Y' can hold on t' de produce when we get it."

She nodded as she handed over the bags. "Ah should be good foh awhile now, raht? Two pairs a' jeans, three sweatshirts, t-shirts…"

"Dat'll last y' at least t'rough winter an' spring if y' don' grow."

"Ah don't think Ah will. Ah'm so tiny."

"I'll build y' back up. Don' worry." He grinned towards her, but it faded as something came to mind. "I have a question, but y' don' have t' tell me if it's too personal dough."

"Go ahead. It's pro'bly 'bout Victor, raht?"

"Oui. Did y' ever tell anyone 'bout him b'fore me? Like when y' went t' school… people ask 'bout de bruises?"

She thought for a moment, then answered. "Ah used ta tell them Ah was accident prone. Ah would even pick fights with the other kids ta have even more bruises an' cuts ta go home with."

"Y' maman didn' wonder why y' would come home all battered up?"

"She knew. She'd get calls all the time. Ah actually think one time she told me 'good cover'." She sighed openly. Luckily, in her eyes, they had reached the fruit market. "Strawberries are mah favorite," she smiled, trying to change the subject.

Remy caught on right away, sorry that he had even brought it up. "Den we'll have t' get lots of dem." They stepped inside, people buzzing about. "Hey, y' wan' do some liftin'?" She nodded eagerly. "K, den first make sure y' pockets are wide open, like dis." He demonstrated on his own duster, showing that his hand could slide in and out with ease. She mirrored him, doing the same to her own purple jacket.

"They're smaller than yoahs."

"Jus' try gettin' a couple of small t'ings."

"Okay."

"Stay behind me an' do what I do." He grabbed a provided basket and started near the peaches. He deftly slipped a peach into his pocket as he dropped one in the basket. Rogue kept a careful watch around as no one took notice and did the same. Happy that she got it in her pocket without being caught, she beamed and almost told Remy, but then remembered the whole 'inconspicuous' deal, so she kept quiet and followed around with Remy.

They went up to the checkout, a considerable difference in the amount of items in their pockets than in their basket. The clerk paid no attention to them though. He just took the basket and counted up the price, bored with his job. Rogue smiled sweetly to look innocent while Remy kept a poker face. _'Not'er t'ing t' teach her._

Remy took the bag after handing over the money and quickly turned away. Rogue matched his pace and they walked out. After a few buildings away, they slowed down. Remy pulled a pear from his pocket and handed it to Rogue. She happily munched on it. "Good job, p'tite," he commented as he pulled out an apple for himself. She took the bag from him as she said she would before. She struggled with it for a moment before finding a comfortable holding position for it.

She grinned in his direction. "This was fun. Ah thought that would be a lot harder."

"Nope, dat's how easy it is. Don' get a high confidence about it dough. Y'll have it tough sometimes."

In a sick twist of irony, a shout came from behind them. Remy and Rogue cranked their heads around to see a blond man running towards them, not happy at all. Remy figured it was an angry manager of the fruit marker and was ready to run, but Rogue froze with terror in her eyes.

"Chere, c'mon!" He tugged on her arm, pulling her out of her trance.

"Remy, that's Victor!" She shrieked. Once realizing that her legs were no longer weak from fear, she started running along with Remy. With all their bagging though, it was hard to keep up a fast pace. Remy jerked her arm towards one of the alleys, knowing there was a shortcut.

"Get back here ya li'l bitch!" Victor roared. He followed them into the alley, only to have lost sight of them. Remy had ducked himself and Rogue in a deep door well near the middle of the alley. He dropped the bags as the blood pumped through his hands like no other pain he had ever felt.

"Remy, are you okay?" Rogue whispered, almost inaudibly.

He nodded. "Jus' no circulation." He shook them in attempt to make the pain go away and make them numb, but it didn't work. Rogue silently put her bag down and took her hands into his, rubbing the individual fingers to get the blood working again.

"That helpin'?" He shook his head furiously, causing his sunglasses to fall off. Rogue looked up at him to see two things she had never seen before from him. One, he had tears running down his face because of the pain, but not only that, his red eyes were blazing with such awesome power she was scared. "Remy, somethin's not raht…"

He held his hand up to her lips. "Shh…" He said with only his mouth moving. He pushed her back against the wall, despite the pain in his hands. He reached into his pocket and armed himself with whatever he could get a firm hold on… which happened to be an orange. Rogue shut her eyes and trembled against Remy's arm. They could both hear footsteps coming closer.

Remy held the orange tight in his right hand, while he left arm held Rogue back. He pulled his hand back, ready to launch it into Victor at first sight. The burning pain came back though, and then it suddenly was gone.

Rogue had opened her eyes when she heard a tiny gasp from Remy, thinking he was feeling pain again. She glanced up to him, only to see a glowing ball in his hand. He didn't seem to have noticed, he was only happy to have the pain gone.

"Remy…?"

"Shh, p'tite."

"But, Rem…" He glared at her, just as Victor found their spot.

"Gotcha!" He proclaimed, but his eyes too fell on the glowing orange in Remy's hand. Instinctively as he planned, Remy threw it directly at Victor's head. Finally he took note of how it was not exactly an orange anymore, and how it blew up in the man's face. He and Rogue were splattered with embers of burnt orange rine and juice. He didn't care to figure it out now. He grabbed what he could of his and Rogue's things and grabbed her hand again. She pulled away from it, afraid that she, too, would start to glow. She grabbed the fruit bag though and followed him anyway.

It wasn't until they were around the corner that Victor had recovered from the blast. He sneered in the direction they had fled, silently swearing to himself to not only get Rogue back, but to get her friend too.

TBC…


	5. Phoning Home

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 5

Hiya again. I wanted to thank all who reviewed the last chapter and the ones before them. Whoa, I actually surprised you guys last time? grin yay. I just figured that would be the most cliché way to go with the story, but oh wellz. As long as you're happy :o)

Rogue glanced over her shoulder several times to make sure they weren't being followed anymore. She was several feet behind Remy, her energy dropping drastically from all the running. He, on the other hand, felt he could go another mile. But when he heard the drop of a bag behind him, he stopped and turned around.

"Remy," she panted. "Ah cain't go on." She was bent over, hands on her knees, heaving air into her lungs.

He jogged back to her and knelt down besides her. "C'mon, chere. Can' let de beast get us." He helped her up and took the produce back. He dropped it instantly though as he felt that familiar pain. It stayed though with nothing to expel it from him. "Gimme an apple," he said through clenched teeth.

She looked at him bewildered but did as he asked. She tossed it to him from her pocket, afraid to touch him. He grabbed it from the air and held it tight in his fist. This time, he watched as the shiny red skin brightened to orange. He watched it in awe, almost peering at it. "Remy! Toss it!" Rogue screamed as she ducked down. She had seen the damage it had done to Victor and he didn't end up just covered in orange juice. More like boiling orange juice. When Remy had pulled her out of the doorway, she had caught a glimpse of her injured stepfather, like in slow motion.

He had covered his face in his hands, roaring with pain. She saw him lower one hand when the initial pain resided. And she saw a look of such hatred that she had never seen from him, ever. His dark brown, almost black eyes, screamed that it wasn't the last she'd see of him.

She looked up again only when she heard the explosion and apple pieces rained from the sky. Remy, from her perspective, stood completely still. His face was skyward to where he had thrown the glowing apple directly vertical of himself. She stood up and squeaked, "Remy?" Realizing she had practically no voice, she swallowed some air and tired again. She reached a hand towards him. "Remy, ya okay, sugah?"

He slowly tilted his head in the direction of her voice. "Chere," he gulped as he stared down at his hands. "What's de matter wit' me?"

She took a step towards him. "It's exactly what we talked about… We can get through this." Another step. He saw her coming closer, but he didn't respond at all. "Listen, we gotta get home. Vic's gonna be lookin' foh us."

"I can' carry anyt'in'. I c'n feel de burnin' 'gain." He glanced down to his hands. They looked normal, but they both knew it wouldn't last.

Rogue sighed. "We need ta get ahold of Kurt. Somehow." Her eyes lit up as if she had an idea, but they rest of her expression said it was a final resort. "Ya got any change?"

He nodded. "In my pocket. Pro'bly better if y' get it dough." She understood completely. She reached in one of his duster pockets and after digging around some fruit, she found about two dollars in quarters.

"Where's the nearest payphone?"

"Off de next street. Who y' callin'?"

She breathed in a trembling breath. "Home."

His eyes widened as if she had suddenly grown another head. "What!"

"Ah'll talk ta Momma. Ah think if Ah promise ta go home she might help you get up north. That school that Kurt goes to could help you!"

"Y' can' seriously be t'inkin' dat y' goin' back t' dat loveless witch an' dat monster we say in de alley?"

Rogue looked at him with sad emerald eyes. "Ah don't want ta see ya hurt yoahself. Not when Ah can actually do somethin' about it. Ah told ya you weren't alone anymore. An' with them, ya won't be. Ah'm keepin' mah promise ta you."

Remy avoided her eyes for a moment. "C'n y' carry de stuff?" He finally spoke, still not looking at her.

She nodded. "Jus' lead the way." She loaded the bags onto her small arms. Remy reluctantly led her down the street. He periodically glanced back, checking for Victor. They reached the small square of restaurants and bars in ten minutes time. Rogue trudged behind him while he kept his arms at his sides loosely, but rigid enough to not bump into his jacket. He didn't want to take any chances.

Rogue saw the stands of payphones and quickened her pace. As much as she was dreading this call, it was for Remy's safety. He had saved her and she wouldn't rest until she could say to herself she had paid him back. She dropped her bags by the nearest empty booth and picked up the receiver with a second's hesitation. She dialed the number she wished she could forget and the operator told her to insert her money. She put the quarters in and it took a couple more seconds to connect, but it started ringing. After the third ring, someone finally picked up. "Hello?" A drowsy voice asked.

"Momma?" Rogue wasn't sure if she was happy to hear her mother's voice or not.  
She heard a gasp on the other line. "Bethany?" Rogue held in a laugh. Amazingly, she had almost forgotten her given name and she had called herself 'Rogue' for only a day and a half.

"Yeah, it's me," she answered simply.

"Where have you been? Victor has been raving that you ran away! Why would you do somethin' like that?"

"You of all people should know why," Rogue said, more harshness leaking into her words than she expected.

She could almost feel her mother's glare on the other end. "It's obvious you didn't call to check in, so get out what ya want."

"That's more like it. Ah need the number foh Kurt's school. Mah friend is like him an' needs help."

"Who's your friend?" Her mother's accent slowly left her. Rogue figured she had been in her 'southern-charm-soaked housewife' form when she had called. She knew she was talking to her mother in her true form now.

"None o' yoah business. Please, Momma. This is the last time Ah'll ask of you foh anythin'."

"Just hold on a minute. You're telling me that I'm never going to see you again? You my daughter, Betha-"

"-Don't call me that," Rogue growled. Ah'm different from the li'l girl that left yoah house a week ago. Ah am not gonna spend mah life being Victor's play toy! An' Ah couldn't just sit around an' expect it ta stop!" Her mother started to sputter something but Rogue went on. "Don't even act like that! You knew what was goin' on an' you didn't do a thing!" The sentence came out as a screamed sob. Heads of civilians in the area turned and Remy just stared at her in awe.

"Bethie… calm down."

"Don't.Call.Me.That!" She shrieked. "Ah'm not yoah daughter anymore. You never acted like mah mother! Ah would be bleedin' in a corner an' what would you do? Throw back another shot and go to bed. With him!" Remy watched, terrified of this girl now. She had so much anger inside of her, aching to get out. And the voice projection of her 10-year-old self rivaled the best public speaker in the country. It echoed through the streets of New Orleans, catching people's attention easily.

He stood up and concentrated on making the pain throbbing in his hands calm down enough so he could take the phone from Rogue, who was still ranting. "P'tite, gimme de phone."

She finally noticed she wasn't the only one in the area. "Oh, umm, sure. Be careful," she warned, her voice still cracking from her sobs. She handed it to him, shakily. He couldn't figure out if it was because she was getting over her mother or afraid of him.

He held the phone for a moment, checking to feel if the pain came again only to leave a second later. But it never came. He put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" He said more politely than he felt he should've. He glanced to Rogue, who had crumpled amongst the bags. She was sniffling loudly and trying to catch her breath from crying.

"Who is this?" demanded her mother. "Put Bethany back on the phone."

"Wait, one t'ing atta time. First, I be Remy. Second, de femme sobbin' next t' me, her name ain' Bet'any. Is Rogue. Got it?"  
"Who are you? Some pedophile taking 'care' of her?"

"Non, I'm de guy who found her after she was alone f'r four days."

"Four days!"

Remy nodded into the phone. "Oui. Now, what c'n I call you 'cuz 'Momma' doesn' sound right comin' from me."

She disregarded his question. She didn't have time for his cockiness. "You're the friend who needs Xavier's number?"

Remy wasn't about to have that though. Nope. He smirked. "I asked y' first. Y' answer my question, I'll answer y's."

He heard a sigh. "Raven. But to you, Ms. Darkholme."

"Oui," he answered right after.

"You are?"

"Didn' y' hear me? Maybe I should stay in English 'cuz y' might be too drunk t' understand anyt'in' else, eh?" She growled on the other end. "My fault. Y' actually sober now? From what I guessed, dat's a special occasion."

"How dare you!"

"Don' even start. Y' gon' give us de number?"

"Why should I?"

"Y' sent y' son dere. He's blue jus like y' from what I hear. Y' got it easy; just change. He can', just like me. I need de same help. Be surprised dat de connection hasn't been cut off because I haven't blown up de phone." He stressed the last part of the sentence greatly.

"Blow up?" She repeated with intrigue.

"Oui, I mean 'yeah'."

She ignored his statement. "You just manifested this ability today?" She sounded very intrigued at that.

"Sure," Remy responded, guessing what the sentence meant. 'Manifested' wasn't a word he heard everyday.

"I can and will help you. I'll give you the number if I can have Betha - I mean Rogue," she spat. "She **is** my daughter. She needs to be home."

Remy glanced down at Rogue. She had drawn her legs into her chest and surrounded herself with their shopping bags. She looked cold, shivering here and there. Her white shock of hair stuck to her face with salty tears. She felt his fiery gaze on her and looked up from her blank stare. Their eyes locked and Remy remembered she had made the same deal. She would go home if he could get the help he needed. But he couldn't give her back. Not to those people who'll just cause her even more pain. Not when he was in this deep. "No deal," he said, still staring at Rogue.

"What?" she asked, more calm than Remy expected.

"No.Deal." He repeated. "I've got a name. I'll find him on my own. P'tite stays wit' me."

"I see… Well, I can't say that I thought it would be this easy, but I'm not giving her up forever."

"I t'ought y' would say dat, but don't count on any contact ever aga-" Then he winced. _Here it comes_. The pain trickled its way into his hand. He quickly said goodbye and hung up. The pain luckily, in this case, was still there, so the phone didn't explode. He yelled to Rogue to stay put where many people could see her and he sprinted to the adjacent street. He bent down and picked up a small rock. He clenched it in his hand and released the pressure once he felt the burning flow into it. Then he belted it down the street. He was already running back to Rogue when he heard the explosion a distance away. He found her where he'd left her. She was eating an apple though, spitting out the red skin. She saw him coming up to her.

"Are we leavin' now?" She asked quietly.

"Oui, c'mon." She picked herself up and gathered their bags.

"What're we gonna do?" She asked as she slung the bags over her shoulder. "Ah mean, about you."

"Y' maman spit out a name dat we c'n work offa. It's been a long day so I t'ink we should jus' head home an' sleep." They walked in the direction of their home.

"You don't actually think Ah'm gonna be able ta sleep tanight, do ya?"

"I dunno. I don' t'ink I will eit'er. But we may as well try, eh?"

"Okay." Then they remained silent for the rest of the walk, each to their own thoughts. Remy compared his dream to what happened today. How was he going to sleep? He'd have to sleep standing up if he didn't want to hurt himself or Rogue.

Rogue, though, had a jumble of thoughts going through her mind. _He's gonna find us. Ah can feel his beady eyes on me. It's not gonna be over till we're north._ She side glanced to Remy and regretted meeting him. She didn't want him to get mixed up in her affairs. It wasn't fair to him. _He shoulda just turned me in, gotten the number, an' they would've picked him up. They did it foh Kurt, what makes Remy different?_ She internally sighed and shifted the baggage again. She couldn't wait to get the load off her and collapse on the floor. She knew she would be plagued with images for the night, so sleep would not overcome her.

A thought clicked in her head. "Remy… what're we gonna do about food in the meantime? Ah mean, Ah'm gonna hafta do the stealin' an' stuff, because who knows when yoah powers'll go off and boom, there goes a purse."

For some reason, that thought hadn't surfaced in Remy's mind. "Merde," he swore. "Hope y' got enough trainin' t'day, chere, b'cuz y' right. I'm not gon' take any chance wit' dis." He sighed. They had made it to the office building and climbing up the stairs. "I t'ink it'd be best if we moved out t'morrow too. De sooner we get north, de better."

"How are we gonna find this guy though? What's his name?"

"Xavier."

"Raht. There could be thousands of guys with that name!" She cried.

"It's not as common as 'Smith', p'tite," he smiled. "We'll find him. Don' worry." He pushed open the door to their room and Rogue immediately threw the bags off her back. She grabbed her blanket and curled up on the floor, physically and emotionally weak. Remy wished to do the same thing, but he didn't trust himself. Rogue on the other hand…

"Remy, lay down. Ya need ta rest." She peeled off her jacket and reached into the produce bag. She grabbed some grapes for him to eat. "We can take shifts. You first."

He shook his head. "Dis day's been harder f'you-"

"-Bull. Remy, get some sleep, an' if anythin' starts ta glow or if you're whimperin' or whatever, Ah'll wake ya up so we can toss it out the window." He stood for another moment, and decided that he did need to collapse since he had used so much energy that day. He nodded and lay down slowly, afraid the slightest touch with anything would trigger his power. "C'mere, ya need ta eat." She slid over to him and shifted him so his head was on her lap. "Think of yoahself as a Greek god, okay?" She smiled and dangled the bushel of grapes over his head.

He grinned and opened his mouth wide. "T'anks, Rogue," he said as he chewed on a grape.

"Don't thank me till this is all over. Ah'm scared that Victor knows where we are. He'll hurt you ta get ta me. Ah know he will."

Remy rested his hands on his bare stomach, since he figured he couldn't make his own skin explode. "We'll make it, p'tite. T'morrow we'll be outta N'awlins an' on our way north."

"We don't know where we're goin' north though. It's like really north, farther than D.C."

"Y' know exactly where?" She shook her head and dropped another grape in his mouth. He chewed slowly, but then asked, "It's in de country, right?"

"Yeah. Ah have no idea though. Northeast. Kurt was always real cryptic about where he was goin'. Like it was some big secret. Ah just know it's an institute foh people like him - like you." She plucked a grape off the bunch and popped it into her mouth. "Where should we start lookin' foh the name?"

"When we get over t' Mississippi, we'll find some way t' get contact up dere."

"Mississippi?" She squeaked. "Ah don't wanna go back there."

"We're not goin' near y' home. We have t' head up northeast, like y' said. Dat's not near y', is it?"

"No. Ah'm raht across the river from here almost." She sighed with relief. "Ah feel better now."

"Good. So t'morrow we hitch a bus t' Jackson."

"Ya know yoah way up there already?"

He grinned. "I've been planning dis forever. I'm ready t' go." He leaned up to bite another grape.

While chewing, Rogue looked thoughtfully at him. "Ah have a question."

"What?"

"Do ya think we'll be up there in a week?"

"I dunno. Why?"

"Because Ah wanna turn eleven an' start over." She didn't say it happily as most children would at the time of their birthdays. She sounded serious.

"We'll try, Rogue. I don' want y' t' spend y' birt'day in a bus depot."

She smiled weakly. "Okay. You should get some sleep now." He nodded against her leg and shut his eyes. He didn't want to move his body at all, afraid it'll trigger something. Rogue absently stroked his hair, and it was the last thing he felt before he fell into a surprisingly serene slumber.

TBC…


	6. Free

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 6

Remy's sleep did not last long, unfortunately. He woke up in seemingly no time later. His aching hands startled him out of what would most likely be the only sleep he'd get that night. He sat up, practically knocking Rogue off of him since she had fallen asleep as well. She awoke instantly and stared at him wide-eyed. "What's wrong?"

"Dey hurt," he said, motioning to his hands.

"All raht." She reached for the produce bag and pulled out a handful of strawberries. "Here," she handed them to him and stood up to open the window. Remy noted how surprisingly calm she was acting. But then he concentrated on the pain and flowed it to the fruit in his hand. Once it was gone, he threw the strawberries out the window. They had exploded even before they hit the ground.

Rogue sat down beside him. "You okay?" He nodded, fighting back a sob. The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before and it was just getting worse. He wished he could fly to wherever this Xavier's place was, just to get the help right away. But he knew reality and it was going to take them awhile. Hopefully less than a week as Rogue had asked.

"Y' gon' be able t' fall back 'sleep?"

She shrugged. "Depends. Are you?"

"Doubt it," he responded sadly.

"Then Ah won't either," she smiled. "Let's talk about how we're gettin' outta here instead."

"Okay." He stood up and walked over to the corner. Rogue watched curiously as he lifted up a panel of wood and reached inside the hole. He pulled out a dusty backpack and a jar, which looked like a cleaned out pickle jar. Only it was filled with cash. Rogue stared wide-eyed as he sat back down. He opened the jar, dumping out the contents.

"How much money is in there?"

"Least a t'ousand. Stopped countin' after awhile." He emptied his duster pocket that had another twenty-dollar bill and some change.

"Wait… how much?" Rogue asked excitedly. "We can get plane tickets up then! We'll be there in no time!"

"P'tite… I don' t'ink I'm too 'closed-area' friendly right now…" He lifted his hands slightly.

"Oh… raht." She realized. "Okay, so we take the long way. Do ya think you'll be okay in buses an' stuff?"

He only shrugged with a sigh.

"Maybe we can get somethin' foh ya ta explode that isn't so… messy." She glanced to the window, imagining the strawberry bits that had splattered on the cars below. Someone was gonna wake up to a treat in the morning.

"I jus' wan' be able t' get dis under control. I don' t'ink I'd be able t' handle it if y' got hurt 'cuz o' me since I said I'd take care of y'."

She smiled and then mistakenly let a yawn escape. "Ah'm not tired. Honest."

Remy rolled his eyes, his eyes fully black for that split second. "Y' need y' sleep."

"You do too," she insisted teasingly. She almost stuck out her tongue because she knew she was right.

"But it's my turn t' stay alert. C'mon," he reached over and pulled her over in his lap. She didn't struggle at all, trusting him to keep her safe like he said he would. And she liked the closeness. He rubbed her back in a soothing motion and soon sleep had claimed her. Remy rested his chin on her hair, the texture still somewhat soft from the buildup of her natural oils, but she was still as skuzzy as him.

Some time later…

Remy opened his eyes and sat up from his hunched over position. He didn't fall asleep, but his eyes were just too heavy to keep open. He was afraid that he would lose control or have another nightmare like the night before.

Rogue was still curled up in his lap, clutching at his shirt for the sake of holding onto something. He was moved by the gesture, but figured for her safety that this couldn't happen every night.

He looked down to her and a smile came to his face. A sad smile, but a smile. He couldn't wait to find this Xavier guy. This girl needed stability and she'd be back with her brother. It made him sad that he wouldn't be the only person in her life anymore though. He knew it was a selfish thought, but he would miss the way they were now and he knew they could only grow closer in their traveling time. At the thought, he hugged her for a second and relaxed again. He sighed into the darkness, though it wasn't dark for him. He always thought he had a good eye for the darkness, but now if he had kept his eyes open, things would have been the same clearness as if in the bright sunlight for anyone else.

He also heard things. Not technically hearing… but feeling. He could feel Rogue's heart thump steadily through her sleep. It almost matched his own. His neighbor in the room next to his turned in her sleep and knocked over something. Everything vibrated against his ears and his nerves. He really hadn't noticed these things until the world went completely still in the quietness of night. Another reason to add to the mental list he was keeping on why he couldn't sleep.

Just as his eyes drooped down again, he felt a creak, on the steps. Whoever it was, they were big. Remy glanced out his window. It had to be at least three in the morning. And Remy knew all his neighbors were in bed or passed out in some alley from the brandy they swiped from wherever, but that's not the point.

He lay Rogue down and tiptoed to the door. Rogue stirred and murmured his name. He put his finger to his lips, but knowing she couldn't see him, he let a small 'shh' escape. He saw her nod and she gathered her blanket against herself. "It's him… Ah knew he'd find us…" she whispered almost inaudibly, fear creeping into her voice.

"Pack, p'tite. Get our clothes an' money in de knapsack an' be ready t' move," he said quickly in a hushed tone, but she understood everything. Quietly as she could, she got their things together and placed them in the backpack, money first.

Remy pushed himself against the wall by the door. "Rogue, apple."

In a second, she had crawled by the produce bag and tossed him the fruit. Even if his power didn't kick in, he would be prepared to launch the apple as he had in the alley.

He pulled the doorknob towards him slightly and peeked out before the door could creak. His eyes widened as he recognized Victor with no problem. He turned to Rogue, who had the backpack already on. "Ah knew it…" she murmured.

Without shutting the door so it would not click, he hurried over to her. Without words, he grabbed her hand and led to the window. Peering outside, Rogue saw a rusty fire escape. "Go, p'tite," she barely heard him say. She climbed out the window warily, her feet dangling above the platform before falling down with a clang. She glanced up to the window and didn't see Remy following her. She heard the door bang, as if swinging open. Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to call out his name to see if he was okay.

In the room, Remy simultaneously heard the clang outside his window and jumped as Victor came into the room; more like pounced in. Remy recoiled against the wall, not expecting his speed. The guy moved like a cat. He hoped Rogue had taken the initiative to get down the fire escape.

Victor growled at him. "I'm gonna get ya, ya li'l runt." He glanced down to Remy's hand where he saw the apple. "Ya think yer gonna pull that on me again?" He took a step closer and Remy pressed himself more against the wall. Oh yeah, he was scared. He was hoping for the moment his powers would kick in like they had done oh-so-conveniently the rest of the day. He almost whispered an encouraging "c'mon" to his hand, but he didn't feel a thing.

Victor wiped his tongue over his feral grin, as if he was planning to have Remy on a platter, Cajun rotisserie style. Suddenly, Remy cried out a strangled scream as his shoulders racked with burning pain. Internally, he sighed with relief, thinking _finally_. He clutched the apple, expecting it to explode between Victor's eyes again.

When the pain was gone, he did throw the apple, but it bounced off the blonde man's head instead of exploding on contact. He watched as anger rose in Victor's deep brown eyes but it quickly turned to a mix between astonishment and fear. And he wasn't even looking at Remy, but beyond him. Following his eyes, Remy glanced over his shoulder to the wall he was backed up against. Fire red. Glowing red. Spreading around the room. Remy turned fully around and backed away from the wall. He almost bumped into Victor and realized his options. He either left by the window, where Rogue should be waiting by the base of the building, and hope that he made it down before the room blew up. Or, he could leave through the front, most likely not making it out of the building in time. Deciding rather quickly, he jumped for the window. He heard Victor roar, "You will not get out this easy!"

Remy dived out the window, landing on the platform. "Watch me," he whispered ominously. He started sliding down the rickety fire escape, hoping to make enough noise to wake his neighbors.

He was a little over halfway down when the rails shook with the explosion. He gulped internally at the thought of his direct neighbors, namely the people to the right and left and above and below him. He slid down expertly, whispering "sorry" in the direction of the flaming hole that was once his home.

He reached the bottom, where Rogue stood, her eyes glued to her what was her home for one day. She wondered if Victor got ht with the blast full force. She wished he did. That the hair on his head was singed to the root and his skin turned black from the burns. It was unlikely he would stay down forever though. Her mind flashed back about two years, to a sticky summer evening. Rogue had been playing with the neighbor's kid, Cody, by the river. They had been collecting tadpoles and made quite a mess of themselves. Rogue had mud past her knees and when she made it back to her house for dinner, she had neglected to rinse herself off.

She realized the mess she was treading in the house and quickly ran to the bathroom, holding her bowl of tadpoles close to her in hopes it wouldn't spill. Once in the bathroom, she locked the door and put the bowl on the back of the toilet. Then she slid out of her shorts and jumped in the bathtub. Just as she turned on the water, she heard footsteps coming up the steps.

"Bethany," her mother's voice shouted through the door and over the running water. "Were you down by the river again?"

"Yes, Momma. Ah'm real sorry an' Ah'll clean everythin' up, soon as Ah'm clean." Rogue scrubbed her leg to prove her point, even if she couldn't be seen or heard through the door.

She heard a scuffle outside the door and she knew Victor was going to start his hollering. Something hit the floor, and Rogue couldn't have been surer of what happened. "Bethie!" He roared. "We just got these fuckin' rugs replaced on account a' you, now get out here an' clean it up!"

"All raht!" She screamed back. She turned the water off and started to dry herself off, but the door slammed open. Rogue stared up into the eyes of her stepfather and he was to the point of growling with each breath he breathed out.

"Don't you **ever** raise yer voice ta me," he said slowly, annunciating every syllable. His voice was drenched with anger.

"Ah… Ah didn't mean ta…" She stammered as she backed up into the tub, tears coming to her eyes. Behind Victor she saw her mother on the floor, head dazed and not focusing on a single point. She wanted to scream to her mother that she was stronger than that. In a moment her mother could be a juggernaut and knock Victor three ways into next week. But her voice dare not leave her throat.

"Oh, ya didn't mean ta?" He stepped closer.

"Please," she whimpered. She knew what was going to happen now. Her face involuntarily readied itself for the oncoming of his hand. He stepped even closer.

"No…"

Victor whipped his head around and his eyes fell on his wife, who had somehow found her voice. Rogue was astonished. _Did she actually just try ta stop him?_

"What was that, woman?"

"Don't… Don't do this, Vic. Please. She's only a child…" Raven tried pushing herself to a sitting up position, but Victor wanted none of that. He stomped back over to her and slammed her back down. Her head connected with the wall and she was out.

"No! Momma!" Rogue shrieked from the bathtub. For the last three years she had despised her mother for allowing everything that had happened, but for those few seconds, her love for her grew.

He twisted around again, this time with a snarl. He started taking quicker steps towards her. In a surge of adrenaline, Rogue reached out to the bowl in lightening speed and threw it at him. Not expecting it at all, he flinched at the splash of water. Once he recovered, he glared through the black spots that were tadpoles clinging to his face. In a flash, his anger had taken over and he lunged at Rogue. Fortunately for Rogue, he didn't have proper footing thanks to the puddle of water and tadpoles on the floor. He slipped as quickly as he jumped and fell, knocking his head against the porcelain tub. Rogue watched with almost a small grin as his head made a sickening crack as he slumped to the tiled floor, blood seeping down in a pool around him.

She jumped out of the tub, grabbing her shorts, and ran to her mother. "C'mon, Momma… wake up," she cried, pulling on her arm. "We're free, we're so free." She averted her eyes back and forth between her blue mother and the man lying lifeless on the bathroom floor. Raven wasn't moving though. "C'mon!" She yelled at her. She actually feared that Victor would wake up. Glancing back into the bathroom, she swore she saw him move. _No, you're just seein' things. He'd dead. No one could survive a hit like that. They don't in movies._ She had actually convinced herself until she heard a moan.

She checked her mother, but it didn't come from her. Slowly, she turned her head to the bathroom one more time. To her horror, Victor was gathering up the strength to get to on all fours. She backed away from her mother, who still hadn't come to. "No…" she muttered disbelievingly. "You're not alive. Ya cain't be."

He turned his head to her, and before her eyes, the gaping wound on the side of his head closed up slowly with a sucking sound. His eyes flared death to her, and she knew she should be running for her life. She backed up crab style into the wall, dangerously close to the stairs. They never broke eye contact: her wide emeralds against his scowling bottomless brown ones. With one swift movement, he was on his feet, fists balled at his sides. Rogue gulped as he wiped the blood from the side of his face, still not moving his eyes from hers. Rogue shook her head violently, not believing every step he was taking towards her. Before she could react, he was towering over her, anger huffing through his nose.

As his hand came down on her to strike, she shook herself out of the memory and was still staring at the flaming building. A sob abruptly left her throat and she broke down into tears. Remy whipped his head around to the sound of her crying and asked, "What's wrong, Rogue? It's just a room, we were leavin' anyway." Not understanding her completely, he found her hand and started to lead her away from the building, as other occupants had done. Soon they began running and the building turned into a main attraction with others still watching and sirens wailing down the street.

"We're never gonna be free," Rogue whispered as they ran. Remy heard her and was a bit confused, but kept running.

Their feet slammed against the pavement, echoing in the early morning. The backpack bobbed up and down with each step Rogue took and it slowed her down slightly. Remy held her hand tightly though to keep her moving.

When they had ran for five minutes, Rogue stopped in her tracks, unable to go on. Remy welcomed the break. "Now," he started as soon as he caught his breath. "What did y' mean 'we're nev'r gon' be free'?"

"Victor," she answered between pants. "-Can do this thing… Ah remember this time… where he had this huge cut on his head." She held her fingers apart about three inches. "An' it healed raht befoh mah eyes."

"It healed," he repeated plainly. Rogue only nodded. "How?"

"It started ta seal up… the ends came tagether first." The picture came back to her, this time in slow motion. "An' it made this nasty slurpin' sound… an' soon all that was left of it was the blood that had already come out."

"Whoa… okay. So he's like me an' y' maman?"

"Yah."

"'Cept he c'n heal real fast?"

Another nod.  
"So… dere's a pretty good chance he survived dat back dere?" He hooked his thumb in the direction of where they had just fled. She nodded again, sadly. Remy let out a breath, trying to think. "Okay. C'mon." He grabbed her hand again and walked with her in a quickened pace.

Rogue glanced over her shoulder, scared that Victor was looming behind her in the shadows. "Where are we goin'?"

"T' de train station. We gotta hope dat dere's a train headin' out dis time o' night. Anyt'in' dat'll get us outta de state'll work."

She nodded, and tried to keep her pace up with his. She watched the street lights overhead hazily and let Remy guide her to wherever the station was.

Remy, on the other hand, all but dragged Rogue in the direction of the station. He knew where it was by spending some time just sitting there, watching it, hoping some day for his way out. Tonight would be it. He couldn't wait to get out of the city, no matter how much he loved it. It had been his home since birth, and he was sorry to leave it. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and not only did he have uncontrollable powers that not only had the power to explode fruit, but destroy sections of buildings, he had a crazed stepfather on him now.

He glanced down to her and watched as she paid no attention to anything except the lights passing her by. He wondered what went through her mind all the time, and what particularly set her off back at the office building.

"'Round de corner waits our future, chere," he said, stopping for a moment. He grinned at her, and she gave a small smile in response.

"Ah'm ready." She swung her arm in his and they started walking again.

The ticket woman looked pretty bored and was surprised to see two children at this time of night, morning, whatever. "Can I help y'?"

Remy peered over the counter. His nose just reached it. "What d'ya have goin' north?"

The clerk checked her records. "Train 20's comin' in at 4:30 an' y'll be dere at no later den 4:50." She paused for a moment. "Y' have 'bout forty-five minutes f' dat dough."

Remy looked down to Rogue and then back to the clerk. "I'll take two for it." Rogue pulled some money out of bag and handed it to him.

The clerk accepted it from him and smiled as she rang them up. She slid the tickets back to Remy. "Enjoy y' trip," she said, strangely cheerful for the time it was. They started to walk away and she caught a glimpse of Rogue with him. She smiled at the clerk and hurried up to Remy.

"What do ya wanna do foh forty five minutes?" She glanced around and saw a newspaper stand that was still open. She ran over and Remy followed. She looked among the things to buy and picked up a deck of cards. She held them up and told Remy "They'll keep us busy." Remy nodded with a smile and Rogue paid for them.

They walked over to a bench and Rogue set down the heavy backpack. She opened the cards and started to shuffle, fumbling with them slightly. "Do y' know any games?" Remy asked.

Rogue smiled up at him. "Go Fish and War. Take yoah pick."

"I'm up for Go Fish. You deal."

Rogue dealt out seven cards for him and then another seven for herself. "You can go first."

"Kay." He looked at his cards. "Any t'rees?"

She shook her head. "Go fish," she giggled.

He picked up a card, not noticing a twinge of pain in the tip of his finger. "Y' turn."

"Umm… Any Kings?"

Remy scowled and plucked it out of his hand. "Here." He started to hand it over and it glowed the ever familiar red. Both Rogue and Remy recoiled off the bench and he dropped the card. It suddenly exploded, but with only a poof, instead of a boom like the fruit had been giving off.

Remy's eyes were wide with astonishment while Rogue had a grin tugging at her lips. "Ah think we figured out somethin' safe foh ya." He realized it to and smiled, despite the anxiety he had been feeling. "Ya know, Rem. This messes up the game now."

"Why?"

"We don't have a King of Hearts," she mock pouted.

Remy picked up the rest of the deck and fanned it in his hands. "Let's see what I c'n do wit' dese t'ings."

TBC…

Next - Remy works with the cards… c'mon, I can't write an origin type story without bringing in Remy's cards! It would be sooo outta character in my mind!

BTW… Stephie, the tadpole scene was for you. :o)


	7. Making Contact

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 7

Remy settled into the cushioned seat, locking his hands around the back of his neck. Rogue told him she was going to look for the food cart and bring them back some early breakfast.

After sitting comfortably for a couple minutes, he pulled the decks of cards out and slid them out from the box. He cut them roughly in half and took the lighter half of the two to mess around with. He fanned them out in his hand. Among the cards, the Ace of Spades stuck out most to him. Intrigued, he pulled it out of the fan and set the other cards aside. He peered at it curiously until the now familiar twinge of pain came. He shut his eyes to protect them from the light it would expel. Only when he opened his eyes, it hadn't exploded just yet. It was glowing red and it enveloped most of the card; the black from the spade still showed through, with a hint of red burning through the middle. It was like he was looking at a mirror of his eyes. A grin appeared on his face as the red seeped to the spaded part of the card and burst into embers. He didn't flinch at all as the embers landed on his fingers.

Rogue walked in as the card turned completely red and almost shrieked when she saw Remy still holding it. She saw the gleam in his eyes too. Once the embers had dissipated, she found her voice and timidly asked, "You okay?"

He turned and noticed her. "Hey. Yeah, I'm great. I like dis card t'ing a lot."

"Good," she responded as she set their food down. "Ah got us some orange juice an' Danishes."

"Hmm," he murmured as his eyes ran over the food. "Yum." Rogue took her seat next to him and took her pick of a cheese danish. "What card we missin' now?"

"Ace o' Spades."

She let out a halfhearted laugh. "Card a' death."

Remy's eyebrows quirked up at the statement. "Death?"

"Yeah. Kurt told me awhile ago. Ah dunno if it's some religious thing or just a myth or whatever."

"Why would dat make a difference?"

"After he moved north, Kurt became a regular churchgoer. He told me he did it ta pray foh me an' Momma. Ah always thought that if Ah had faith, Ah would get outta mah life."

"Look where y' are now." He smiled encouragingly.

"Yeah…" she said quietly. "Ah guess it actually worked after all this time."

Remy grabbed a blueberry Danish and ate a good portion of it before speaking again. "What do y' wan' do when we get t' Atlanta?"

Rogue swallowed the food in her mouth and took a sip of juice. "We gonna be able ta start lookin some sources on Xavier at this time o' mornin'? Ah don't wanna spend too much time in one place so the sooner we find out stuff, the sooner we'll be there." She shivered involuntarily as the thought of Victor hit her from the back of her mind.

"Dat's fine. I dunno if libraries are open now dough… dat's the problem."

"We can try the operator," she suggested.

"Good 'nuff."

The train pulled into the station an hour later. As they stepped off, Remy silently thanked the Amtrak as Rogue walked ahead to some phone booths. He caught a glimpse of the clock in the station. It read 6:49 AM. He stifled a yawn. "C'mon, Remy!" Rogue called from ahead, fueled on the sugar and juice she had on the train. She stood by the payphones, their bag by her feet.

Remy made it up to her and she picked up the receiver. "You do the talkin'." She lifted the phone up to his ear. "Mah voice is too small ta talk ta them," she smiled.

"Y' jus' lucky my voice changed two years ago," he grinned in return. Rogue pushed the '0' button and Remy waited for the operator to kick in.

Hello and good morning. You have reached the Atlanta phone directory. If you know the number of the area code of the person you wish to call, press 1. If you know the name of the person you would like to call, press 2.

Before the voice continued, Remy pressed '2'.

_You have chosen number – 2_, it answered back in a choppy recorded voice. _You will be connected to a phone company representative in a few moments. Please wait._

Remy gave thumbs up sign to Rogue. She nodded excitedly.

"Thank you for callin', how can I help ya?" A bored voice said on the other end.

"I need t' find a number f' a place up north," Remy answered.

A pause. "How old are ya, kid?" The voice rasped back. Her voice sounded coarse, most likely from years of smoking.

"Umm, fifteen?"

"Try again."

"T'irteen," he responded honestly.

"That's better. Now, I don't mean ta be nosy, but don't ya think you're up a li'l early ta be usin' the phone?"

"Dat really any o' y' business?" Remy snapped back.

He heard her snort though the phone. "What name are ya lookin' for?" She continued, bringing professionalism back into the conversation.

"Xavier." Rogue watched him huff the name into the receiver.

"Is she makin' you mad? Ah'll talk ta her." She started to pull the phone away.

"Non, p'tite. I got it."

"Who's that?" The operator asked.

"My sister. We're lookin' f' our long lost rich grand pere an' y' not helpin'," he spat.

She snorted again. "Do ya know the location?"

"North of D.C. Dat's all we know."

"One moment please," she answered in a squeaky rehearsed tone. The phone clicked and an advertisement started playing for tourist attractions in the area. Remy sighed into the phone and Rogue pulled it away from his ear.

"Ah'll listen ta see if anythin' sounds familiar." He nodded in agreement and waited with her for the operator. Rogue drummed her fingers on the booth, beginning to get impatient. A yawn crept out her lips and Remy involuntarily mirrored the action. She grinned at him.

"We gotta find a place t' rest, cherie."

"Ah know. Only foh a couple hours though."

"Sure. Dat shouldn' be too har-" Rogue put her hand up to signal the operator had returned.

"I found three results for the name 'Xavier'."

"Great. Thank you."

"Wait. Are you the younger sister?"

"Umm, yeah." She really didn't like this lie, but she saw how Remy found it necessary.

"How old are ya, honey?" Southern charm leaked into the woman's voice. Rogue smirked. Two can play at that game.

"Mah momma told me ta never tell that sorta thing ta strangers." She did her best pouty Shirley Temple impression, her voice sweet as spun sugar.

"Oh, okay, sweetie."

"May Ah have the numbers now? Ah'm awfully tired an' me an' mah brother would like ta get some rest." She fought twirling her hair with her fingers, but the temptation was great. She always thought she'd be a cute actress.

"O' course." Rogue could feel her smile growing. _Nice change a' pace._ She winked to Remy and he nodded, urging her to go on. "First I have Xavier Paper Corporation located in… Harrisburg, PA…"

"That's not it," Rogue decided almost immediately.

"Okay. How about this man, lives in a suburb in Westchester County, New York: Charles Xavier?"

Rogue paused for a moment, deep in thought. Her mind searched and searched for any memory of the name. Then the proverbial light bulb went off. "That's it!" Her voice echoed through the near empty station, her excitement repeated over and over again. "Can Ah have the number?"

"All I have is the number to his boarding house… Institute for the Gifted…"

"That's perfect!" She almost jumped up and down. Remy watched a grin spread on her face.

"Would you like me to connect you?"

She nodded eagerly on to the phone. "Please. Thank you, you've been evah so helpful!"

"You're welcome honey. It was nice talkin' ta you." Then the phone clicked again.

Rogue turned her attention to Remy, the green in her eyes dancing with glee. "Should Ah do the talkin' or you?"

"You can. See if y' can get 'hold of y' brot'er."

She nodded and held the phone closer to her ear, waiting. They didn't converse for those few minutes, both too overwhelmed with their excitement to say anything. Her eyes brightened when she heard a ring after more than three eternal minutes of blankness. "Good morning, Xavier Institute," an unusually cheery voice for the time of morning greeted after the second ring.

"Hi," Rogue answered timidly. "Can Ah speak ta Kurt Darkholme, please?"

"Kurt is currently unavailable, seeing as how it is barely the beginning of the day," the man laughed as if he had made a joke.

"It's very important that Ah speak with him though," she insisted.

He paused, and Rogue feared he had hung up since she didn't hear the slightest bit of breathing from the other side. "May I ask who's calling so I may pass this message onto him when he is awake?"

"No!" She shouted. "Ah'm sorry. Ah'm at a payphone in Atlanta an' he wouldn't be able ta get ahold of me, an' it's takin' us twenty minutes ta find the number foh yoah school…" she rambled.

Remy gently took the phone from her. She squeaked a 'no', but relented and let him have it. "'ello?"

"Who is speaking now?"

"I be Remy."

"Ah, Remy? I'm Henry McCoy, but you may call me Hank. Now, may I ask the significance of your call?" He sounded warm with his words, despite the word usage. Remy felt comfortable with him.

"My powers manifested yest'rday," he said casually, repeating the word Raven had used on the phone. He only hoped he was using it properly and that it sounded smart.

"Interesting." He sounded like he was taking notes. "Do you mind if I interrogate you on a few things?"

Remy shrugged into the phone. "Sure."

"Great. Now, what sort of ability do you possess?"

"I blow t'ings up."

"Fascinating. How?"

"I'm still gettin' de hang of it, but it goes t'rough my skin…" and he explained the appearance of the object before it would explode. "I blew up my last home because of dem," he added forlornly.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry, Remy. Were you and your friend injured in the accident?"

"No, we escaped. Her stepfat'er was up dere lookin' f'her, so we t'ink he might have been hurt."

"I see. Is your friend a mutant also?"

"Non. I t'ink she's too young t' be, she said."

"Right. I forgot to ask you this before: age?"

"Tirteen. Rogue's ten."

"Rogue? That's a peculiar title."

Remy glanced to her, as she was eagerly watching him, absorbing every word that came out of his side of the conversation. "She wants t' be called dat," he answered simply.

"I won't prod then."

"Merci."

"I'm assuming you are Cajun, native to the bayou area in Louisiana, correct me if I'm wrong."

"Non, y' right. N'awlins t' be exact."

"And Rogue…?"

"Some place in Miss'ippi. She was never exact 'bout where."

"Wait… would it be possible to speak with her again?"

"Oui." He handed the phone back.

"Hello?" Rogue asked.

"Hello again," he greeted warmly. "Why did you so urgently wish to speak with Kurt?"

"Ah'm his sister." She thought she heard him gasp. "Is somethin' the matter?"

"No, nothing. When Remy mentioned Mississippi, it sparked my interest since Kurt has visited there many times but he was never clear on the intentions."

"Ah understand. Do you think you can help us? Ah can tell ya everythin' ya wanna know. Ah brought the idea of goin' up there ta Remy after he blew up that orange an' Ah guess Ah was gettin' scared that we wouldn't be able ta come up…."

"Of course you can come up here. That sort of decision can be made without conferencing with the others, since there is a mutant in need. And I'm all but positive Kurt would be ecstatic to see you."

"Ah would be too." She said wistfully.

"I'm trying to speculate what could actually be done right now. I could hang up with you, wake the others at this ungodly hour of morning, tell them that I've been contacted by you and a fellow mutant…"

"How about Ah wait while ya go an' wake up Kurt? It's been so long since Ah've heard his voice," she suggested, her smile leaking into her voice.

"Oh yes, of course. Silly of me to neglect that thought completely. Would you be so kind as to hold as I page him? I answered the phone in my lab-"

"A' course," she cut short his ramblings, although kindly. She definitely liked this guy. He made her smile even though they were thousands of miles apart. "Ah'll wait."

"Thank you." She heard the phone click again as he put her on hold and she turned to Remy.

"Ah'm gonna talk ta Kurt. This is so excitin'!"

"Dey gonna accept us up dere?"

"Definitely. Ah've only heard good things about them. Kurt thinks the world a' them." She pressed the phone closer to her ear when she heard a poof of air distantly on the other line.

"Hello?" A male teenaged voice picked up the phone.

"Kurt!" Rogue squealed into the phone.

"Bethany? My God, it's really you!"

She hesitated at the name, but enthusiastically replied. "It is! Ah've missed ya so much."

"Hank said you were in Atlanta? What are you doing there?"

She bit her lip. "Ah ran away from home."

"Beth! How could you?"

"Last straw with Victor, Elf. Ah couldn't take it anymore."

"How did you expect to survive? How long have you been on your own?"

"Ah was only on mah own for a few days." She left out that it was four days. "Another homeless boy saved me," she then explained the situation over again about Remy and his powers. "So Ah figured we could stay up there with you."

"How could you do this to Mom?" He said suddenly, almost accusingly.

Rogue glared into the phone. "Did she ever do a thing ta get me an' her outta that house an' away from him? Ah'm sorry, Kurt. Ah'll feel sorry later, but as foh raht now, Ah needed out."

He sighed into the phone and was quiet for a long moment. Rogue was afraid to speak up. "Alright," he relented. "She is still our mother, though."

"Ah know. Ah really don't wanna think about her now though. The only thing that has me worried is Remy." She glanced to him, his eyes still blazing red.

"I understand. We'll have to talk things over with Scott but I'm sure we'll make it down there later on today."

She grinned. "Thank you!" She placed an over-exaggerated smooch on the phone, and she heard him laugh on the other end.

"We'll find you. Don't worry, Beth."

She cringed again. "Kurt… one more thing."

"What's up?"

"Can ya call me Rogue?"

He paused. "Umm… I guess I should know the answer as to why, but as for how you came up with that one, I guess I'll ask later." She thought he disapproved and wouldn't dream of calling her that, but then he answered, "All right. Rogue it is."

She giggled. "Yay! Okay, whenever you get here, we're plannin' on gettin' a room foh a bit since Remy has some extra money."

"I'll let the others know. See you soon… Rogue." He almost slipped on the name, but he was still thrilled his baby sister would be living with him.

"Bye, Kurt." She placed the phone back on the cradle and all but jumped on Remy to give him a hug. He toppled over and landed hard on his butt, but Rogue was happier than he'd ever seen her in their short time together. So the pain from his bottom didn't bother him too much. "Ahh, Gawd, Ah cain't believe it! You're in, Remy! They're gonna help you an' let ya stay there an' Ah'll be with Kurt an' away from Victor!" She pulled herself away from him and stood up, still jumping up and down.

Remy stood up and dusted himself off, huge smirk apparent on his face. "Did they say all o' dat?"

She stopped jumping. "Well, why wouldn't they help ya? The nice man that was on befoh Kurt sounded really friendly, an' Kurt wouldn't lie ta me."

"Good point. C'mon, let's go get a room." He extended his hand out to her. She happily took it, grabbing the back pack with her other arm and slinging over her shoulder.

"Are we gonna just go to a motel an' sleep foh a bit?"

"One wit' room service, p'tite. An' I'm suddenly cravin' a bubble bath."

"You read mah mind!" She squealed. She hopped next to him. They stepped out of the train station and found themselves in downtown Atlanta. Hotels were all around for tourists. Picking out the first one along the strip, Remy held open the door for the young Rogue and ushered her in.

After having no trouble checking in except for the usual strange stares of children checking in at eight in the morning, Remy and Rogue had a decent sized room with twin beds, a TV, and even a pool out back that was days short of being closed for the season. Remy all but ran for the bed, it being the first one he'd been in since too many months to count. He snuggled into the pillow, sighing blissfully to himself.

Rogue, too, bounded to the other bed, feeling a sense of security by the hotel. She checked out the window and only saw scattered leaves on the ground, some floating on the surface of the pool. Satisfied, she jumped into bed and nestled herself between the sheets. "Ah could sleep foh days," she murmured, twisting herself so she could face Remy on the other side of the room. His red on black eyes blinked at her, slightly hazed over with his exhaustion.

"Already beatin' y' t' it," he yawned. His eyelids fluttered shut and Rogue watched him slip into slumber in no time. Suddenly very curious of the room, previous laziness was put off and she hopped out of bed. Finding herself in the bathroom, she wanted to take a nice long bubble bath as Remy had mentioned before. There was nothing impressive about the bathroom, but something about it just made Rogue want to clean herself.

She left the door slightly ajar to listen for the phone or for Remy if he were to wake up prematurely for any reason. By the door, she peeked out at him and watched him sleep peacefully. A wave of fatigue hit her then, so she stepped away from the door and pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it by the toilet. She walked by the mirror and caught a glimpse of her frail body. She traced her hand over the small yellow mark on her cheek. With a sadistic glare, she remembered waking up no more than a week earlier with a bruise that spanned the left half of her face. She shook her head before another image in her over productive mind could drudge up the memory. She glanced down at her naked torso and cringed. She had numerous nail scars across her stomach and arms, another scar from a bite wound just below her breastbone. With a shaky breath, she closed her eyes and slipped out of her jeans. Many more scars were below her hips and she didn't want to scrutinize them now, nor ever.

She stepped into the tub and turned on the water. Glancing about so she wouldn't see her skin, she found the complimentary bubble bath and dumped half the bottle in. She purposely turned the water on to scalding hot and stood in the water until it was knee deep with bubbles flowing over the edge. It burned at her shins and down, but she told herself she would get used to it. With a sigh, she lowered herself down and wanted to jump up and get away from the boiling water, but she would burn the skin away if she had too. She settled in with a whimper and let the heat hold her down.

TBC…


	8. Surprise Surprise

Street Livin' 

Chapter 8

Remy woke to the sound of coughing and splashing. With a quick glance to the clock, he saw that he'd been asleep for well over two hours. Fearing the worse, he jumped up and followed the sound to the bathroom. He found Rogue, choking on water. Not caring that she was bare in the tub, he stepped up and started patting her exposed back, trying not to stare at the numerous scars and still healing bruises. Taking note of it though, he patted more gently. "Y' okay, p'tite?"

She nodded wearily, her face returning back to its normal pale, golden freckled shade. She coughed once again and sputtered up some more water. "Ah had mah head restin' on the back an' Ah fell asleep… when Ah fully went out Ah slid in." She shivered, the water long since cooled down and the bubbles had dissipated as well. Her skin was still pink from the prolonged exposure to the hot water.

Remy reached up and pulled a towel off of the rack. "C'mon, let's get y' int' bed." She nodded and braced herself on the tub edges. She lifted herself up and Remy quickly wrapped the towel around her. She blushed at the action, embarrassed he'd seen her battered body. He remained quiet though, staring through her instead of at her. As if she were as brittle as the finest glass, he lifted her up and cradled her small body to his chest. He stepped out of the bathroom and carefully carried her to her bed. He lowered her down, towel and all, and pulled her blanket over her. "Y' want me t' get y' some food?"

"Up ta you," she whispered, her voice hoarse from coughing. She pulled the blanket up to her chin. Underneath the thick comforter, she peeled off the towel from her body and threw it off the bed.

"How does some pancakes wit' eggs an' bacon sound?"

A smile came to her face. "Sounds ver' good."

"I'll be back den. Jus' get some real sleep now."

She nodded and sighed when the door shut behind him. Not caring to change into clothes or let alone move too much, she reached out to the end table and grabbed the TV remote. Flicking around until she found cartoons, she fell back against her pillow and fell asleep.

Remy traveled down the elevator, playing cards in hand. They were coming in very handy for his power, which seemed to be calming down as well. He hadn't had any accidents since arriving at the hotel, but it always did like to sneak up on him at inconvenient times.

He reached the bottom and stepped off the elevator, brushing his shoulder into the arm of a young woman stepping on. He apologized to her and she nodded back with a warm smile on her face. Before the doors shut, he caught a good glimpse of her. Her soft brown hair curled around her face and sat just below her shoulders. Her eyes sparkled an innocent bluish-green; she couldn't have been more than eighteen years old.

He walked past the lobby to the dining area. A couple of other people were in there already, including a group that he could hear talking. They had Northern accents to him, and were quite a diverse group. The man sitting next to the window had black hair, spiked up oddly. An unlit cigar hung from his stern set lips. The man sitting across from him wearing red sunglasses reprimanded him for even bringing out the cigar, motioning to the very pregnant redhead next to him. The gruff one backed down right away.

Remy walked by them, attempting not to stare, but he caught himself in the violet eyes of a young woman of Asian decent sitting next to the gruff man. She stared through his sunglasses and recoiled as if she'd been burnt by the blaze of his red eyes. "He's a mutant," she whispered, surprisingly in a British accent. Remy felt an odd breeze flutter over his mind, almost in the form of a purple butterfly. Suddenly, he slapped it out of his mind and the woman slammed against the back of her chair as if Remy had physically struck her.

Not wanting to find out what had just happened, Remy ran in the direction he came from. He didn't know who these strange people were and he didn't want to find out. He heard them yell for him to stop as he reached the elevator. He punched the 'up' button repeatedly, as if it would come faster if he pushed it a hundred times more than needed.

Footsteps thundered after him and Remy could only assume it was the gruff man. The one in sunglasses was probably too preoccupied with the pregnant woman and the British-Asian, _if dat's possible_, was either too stunned or afraid of him now. Her running steps would have been much daintier, almost silent.

Finally the door to the elevator slid apart and Remy leapt inside. Repeating the procedure of the pushing the button for the 4th floor, he panted roughly, hoping he could make it upstairs so he could get to Rogue.

The door slid shut and as the elevator began its ascension, Remy heard the squeal of metal against metal below him. The sound made him cringe and he began to pace impatiently. The bell sounded after a long moment and he booked out of the elevator and down the hall to their room.

Halfway down, the all-too-familiar pain shot through his right hand, setting his nerves on fire. He fumbled in his pocket for the cards. One slipped out between his index and middle finger, catching the energy immediately. Once he felt the pain release, he tossed the card over his shoulder and ran the rest of the way to the room.

He swung open the door to find Rogue, dressed in fresh clothes, looking over a photograph with the same brunette he'd bumped into getting off the elevator. She looked up to him with her child-like aquamarine eyes. "I'm Kitty. We're not going to cause you two any harm," she stated calmly. She noted his panting and only figured Logan had chased him up. _Pff, he can be so impatient sometimes._

Rogue glanced up at Remy with watery eyes. "These are the people, Remy. Look." She held up the picture for him to see. He crossed the room and checked out the picture. It was a very young Rogue, no more than the age of three, with whom he could only assume as Kurt and her mother sitting very naturally – and blue - in front of a Christmas tree. Rogue looked very happy, almost a complete opposite of what she was now. Her skin glowed white and her hair was all a solid shade of auburn, tumbling over her shoulder in baby curls. The only thing that was the same was her eyes. They still shined like emeralds as they did now, though happiness was the most apparent thing in the photo, where as now it was hope.

"This is Kurt's picture… he would bring it down with him when he would visit… remind me of what things used ta be like." She held back a sob, bringing the picture to her chest and hugging it.

Just then, the door slammed open and the gruff man stood in the doorway. "Logan!" Kitty scolded. "They're just kids, sheath your claws."

He growled at Remy, who backed down onto Rogue's bed. "He smells like Creed."

"Didn't you listen to Cyke at all during the briefing? Oh wait, you didn't even show up until five minutes before take off," she spat. Logan snorted and coming from his short body of 5'3'', it was an ominous sound. "Sorry," she added. "Rogue here is Creed's stepdaughter, just as Kurt is. They collided with him several times yesterday."

Rogue stared between the two of them for a moment to see if they were going to exchange any more words. "Where is Kurt?" She asked timidly.

"He's waiting in the jet," she smiled back at Rogue. "Would you like to see him?"

Rogue nodded happily. Kitty grinned in response and tapped her wristwatch. "She's ready for ya, buddy."

A second later, a cloud of pink smoke surrounded Rogue and a faint odor seeped into her nose. She beamed with joy and twisted around. "Kurt!" She squealed as she tackled him in a hug.

Remy watched wide-eyed as she hugged the blue elf with all her might. He embraced her back with blue furry arms with three-fingered hands. Kurt's eyes blazed much like his own, except they were a solid golden yellow, no pupils in sight. A long prehensile tail squirmed under his body as Rogue held him down.

Kurt got the chance to sit up, checking out her sister's rescuer. He took his time scrutinizing Remy and finally said, "Thank you for helping her." He extended his hand to Remy, who cautiously took it. He'd never shaken hands with someone with three fingers before. At first glance, Kurt was scary and demon-like, but Rogue was right: he's nothing but a harmless blue elf. He had the same happiness in his eyes that Rogue had in the Christmas photo.

The hand felt weird during the shake, but Remy didn't dare cringe. Kurt pulled away first, smile still wide on his face. "Are we ready to go?"

"Just about," the violet haired Asian piped up from the doorway. A smirk played at her lips. "Jean needed just one more buttered muffin before moving on." She sauntered in, taking a seat on Remy's bed. "You kids out did yourselves. The continental breakfast here is delish." She crossed her legs gracefully, folding her hands on top one knee. Her outfit reflected her attitude. Tight black pants that fit her like second skin, matching black leather jacket over a lavender angora sweater. Remy couldn't decide if he liked her yet or not.

"C'mon, you two," Kitty said, standing up. "Let's get ya ready to go."

Rogue stood up after her, joining hands with Kurt. She reached her hand towards Remy. "Ta new beginnings, sugah." She faintly smiled, happy tears taunting her eyes and threatening to fall.

He pulled off his sunglasses and looked her straight in the eyes. Kitty gasped from the intensity of them, but Rogue didn't flinch. He took her hand as an answer. Her hand was tiny compared to him as always, but this time, an icy tingle ran over him through his nerves. It traveled like a buzzing, flowing up to his mind and then reversing… this time drawing some of him too. Rogue cried out and recoiled from both him and Kurt. Remy swayed before he hit the floor, just after Kurt.

Rogue backed up into the bed, falling over and clutching her head in her hands. A scream erupted from her throat. "What's happenin' ta me!"

"Dammit," the Asian muttered, running over to the bed. "I need Jean up here. Now!" She placed her fingertips to her temples and a purple butterfly sprouted out in psychic energy.

Kitty ran for the door, but Logan stepped in front of her. "I got 'em. Help Betsy with anythin' she needs." And then he ran.

Remy's eyes fluttered open after he hit the floor, feeling very empty inside. His eyes slinked to the bed, where he could see Rogue's feet dangling over. He heard her screams and then Kitty jumped back at least four feet. The pillow on the bed flew over Remy's head and hit the still swinging door, exploding on contact. Remy thought numbly to himself that he didn't do that. Before he could question it again, feet bounded by him in blurs and stopped by the bed. Logan was back with the couple from downstairs. Another pair of sneakers touched down on the ground, previously floating.

The redhead, he now assumed her name was Jean, mirrored Betsy's actions. Psychic fire sprawled out and touched Rogue on the bed. "Her mind is a mess," she whispered, astonished.

"Get her off the bed," Betsy commanded. "She's using powers similar to what Hank explained of the boy." Remy's eyes shot open for that bit, but shut again with the lack of energy in his body. He managed to stay awake and listen, though a headache was beginning to thunder in his head.

"Alright, I've got her in a telekinetic hold. Should I just carry her like this to the jet? I'll be able to handle it."

"Hold on a second here. Didn't Hank say she was only ten? Isn't that a little early to be developing powers?"

"Scott, I manifested my powers weeks after I turned eleven," Kitty mentioned. "Though it is odd that she developed hers a day after Remy's… the same powers even."

Scott sighed. "I'd hate to do tests on her to figure this out… but it's too much of a coincidence."

"No tests!" Rogue shrieked. Suddenly, she was gone in a puff of pink smoke.

Betsy lowered her hands from her forehead as the bitter stench of brimstone reached her nose. "Okay. Did she just use Kurt's ability, too?" She glanced bewildered between the four fully conscious people in the room.

"Umm…" came the dumbfounded response from Kitty.

"It's okay," Jean whispered. She shut her eyes, concentrating. She gulped and found her voice. "I followed her mind to wherever she teleported. She's trying to remember herself… Kitty?" She asked for the young woman with her eyes still shut, although still seeing.

"Yes, Jean?"

"She's in the gift shop."

"The gift shop?" Kitty questioned. It was an odd place for a distraught girl to be.

Jean nodded. "I'm seeing everything she's seeing." Her eyes clenched tighter, as if she were squinting to get a better look. "In the doll section."

"I'm on it." And she slid through the floor.

Through half-lidded eyes, Remy watched her fade out of the room. "Where she go?" He murmured.

Betsy knelt down beside him and smiled. "_Just like you can charge objects and Jean and I can read minds, Kitty can walk through walls." _Her red pout never moved with a single word. Her voice echoed through his mind with the same purple haze as before as if trying to unnerve him. Her being able to speak directly into his mind was a touch unnerving. "_How are you feeling? Just think it if it's too hard to say."_

"_Headache, weak… y' have any idea what happened t' her?"_ He did as she said and just thought his words.

"We think she somehow obtained your and Kurt's powers, but we have no idea how. Do you remember anything before you hit the floor?"

Remy thought hard, and then he remembered the feeling as if it had slapped him in the face. "_Like an cold chill runnin' up my arms t' my head… tricklin' energy t'rough my finger tips."_

"_When she took your hand?"_ He nodded weakly. "_Hmm… that sort of adds up. For a moment we thought she'd manifested the same power as you."_

He laughed lightheartedly. "_Dat's my girl. When I tol' her dat she could be my li'l protégé, I didn' t'ink she'd take it so literally."_ He didn't mean to project that last part, but not knowing how to cut off his actual thoughts with a psychic, it just leaked over their connection.

She reached for his arm. "Can you stand now?" She asked with her actual voice.

"I t'ink so." She held onto his arm and helped him steady. Kurt stirred next to the bed as well.

"Great," Scott breathed with relief. He reached down and helped Kurt sit on the bed. He looked as dazed as Remy.

"What happened?"

Remy glanced at him and stated, half joking, the other half dead serious: "Congrats, homme. Y' sister's one a' us."

TBC…


	9. Colliding Powers

Street Livin' 

Chapter 9

Kitty stealthily phased through the four floors leading down to the main lobby. Surprising and fortunately, she didn't slide in on any people or in front of any one when she landed on the lobby's carpeted floor. Gazing around, she found the gift shop to be tucked away in a corner by the dining area.

She stepped inside, and it was bigger than from the appearance of it outside. She glanced around, trying to find the doll section. Seeing pink puffy tutu's on stuffed animals ahead of her, Kitty figured that was it. She strolled lightly, technically not sneaking up on Rogue, but it seemed an awful lot like it.

She glanced around the aisle of toys and found Rogue sitting against the shelves, huddling a toy to her. Rogue seemed to be completely staring out into nowhere, so Kitty looked closer. It was a bear with angel wings. Taking an initiative, Kitty stepped from behind her hiding place and crouched down in front of Rogue. "Hey, sweetie," she said softly, smiling.

Rogue looked up, tears welling in her round emerald eyes. "What did Ah do?"

Kitty's smile faded and she bit her lip, searching for the right words. "We're not sure yet… but we're more than positive you're a mutant." She said it as gently as she could, and apparently, Rogue understood.

She held the bear out to Kitty. "Ah used ta have one just like this. Ah left her at home… on mah bed where she belongs…" She sniffled. A lone tear slid down her cheek, leaving a wet, salty path behind it.

Kitty was frozen. She wanted to hug the girl, but what if what happened to Remy and Kurt happened to her? A twinge angry with herself for being selfish, she took the doll and then gathered Rogue in her arms carefully. Rogue fought against her a bit, but let Kitty hold her. She needed it. "Do you want the bear?" Rogue only nodded sadly, looking up at her with doe eyes. Kitty smiled warmly, trying to break Rogue's unintentional icy expression. She let Rogue out of her arms and extended her gloved one to Rogue.

Rogue peered at it curiously. "Why are ya wearin' gloves indoors?"

Kitty glanced down and noted that she hadn't taken them off. "I wear them all the time. When I phase through things, it sends a tingle through my body, making everything really numb for a split second. I just took up wearing gloves because I thought it would help." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Rogue's eyes widened. "Phase?"

A smirk appeared on Kitty's face, brightening her eyes. "Wanna see?" Rogue nodded curiously. Kitty handed the bear back to her and stepped over to the wall. "Come over and look at it from this angle." She had Rogue lean her side against the wall so she could see it at a 90-degree angle. "Watch." Kitty closed her eyes and a second later, she moved her hand closer to the wall. She inched it forward bit by bit, until she heard Rogue gasp. She opened her eyes to see her arm was all the way in up to her elbow.

"Where does it go? On the other side?" Rogue was amazed.

Kitty nodded. "Do you wanna try?"

"Ah can?"

"Here," she reached for Rogue's hand with her free one. Rogue cautiously took it. "Now just reach in the wall." Rogue pointed at the wall and leaned into it, eyes wide. Soon her fingertip was gone, then her hand, and then she was in up to her shoulder. She stepped back out, cheerfulness playing at her eyes.

"That was so cool!" Kitty withdrew from the wall herself before anyone could see. Rogue poked at the wall again, seeing it was once again tangible. She looked up at Kitty, admiration in her eyes.

"Are you ready to go now?"

"Ah think Ah am… this is just too freaky, ya know? Ah didn't think Ah would be like this…" She was holding Kitty's hand once again, and they walked to the front of the store so Kitty could pay for the bear.

"It is a really early age for someone to find something out like this. I wasn't too much older though."

"You weren't?"

"Nope. I was only eleven for a couple weeks when I fell through my chair one night at dinner. Mom was bickering at me for not cleaning my room, of the dumbest things. I was throwing a tantrum and I banged myself against the back of the chair… or so I thought. I hit the floor and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell – heck – had just happened."

"Ah'll be eleven next week," Rogue whispered.

Kitty glanced down to her. "Well, then it isn't that much of a difference after all." They had reached the checkout and Rogue put the doll on the counter. Kitty reached into her pocket and pulled out some cash. After all exchanges were made, Rogue was once again clutching the bear to her chest and Kitty led her to the elevator. As the doors slid open, the others were on their way out, Remy in tow. Rogue saw him and lowered her eyes.

"Ah'm sorry Ah hurt ya, Remy… Ah didn't mean ta…"

"Rogue, it's okay. Really." He extended his hand trustingly but Rogue didn't even try. In fact, she shrank more into Kitty's side. Remy dejectedly dropped his hand, but still looked at her, not bothering to hide the hurt in his eyes.

Kitty watched the interaction and pulled her hand out of Rogue's grasp. She tugged her gloves off her slender hands and stopped to put them on Rogue's hands. She joined hands with her again and they started to walk again. Rogue glanced warily between her hand in Kitty's hand and her free hand, and back up at Kitty. She smiled brightly, her warm blue-green eyes shining. She nodded towards Remy.

Rogue turned to him, still looking sad. Slowly, she reached her hand over and clasped it with his. She linked her fingers inside his. He wiggled his fingers a bit to tickle her hand and she giggled. Kitty looked up to Scott. "I think we're ready to go."

He smiled warmly at the younger two and began to lead the team of now eight out of the hotel; he had an arm around Jean while Kitty, Rogue and Remy followed behind them. Betsy trailed slightly behind them, while Logan walked with Kurt. Rogue glanced back to him and smiled, noticing he looked human. He motioned to Betsy who had a slight aura of purple in the middle of her head. Rogue nodded, understanding that Betsy was creating the illusion of him being normal.

Scott opened the front door, holding it open for the group. Completely forgetting in the confusion about Rogue, Remy had forgotten to replace his glasses. The noon sun hit him in the face and he cried out, dropping down to his knees. He snatched his hand away from Rogue and covered his eyes. "What's wrong with him?" Scott demanded with concern. He couldn't help but think that these two were going to be trouble when they got back to the institute.

Rogue watched him, and in a split second's decision, she went for the bag slung over his shoulder. "It's okay," she murmured to him as she plunged into the bag. She scowled as she found them buried at the bottom. _Who put 'em there?_ She retrieved them and stood in front of Remy, shadowing his face. "Ah got 'em, Remy."

He peeked through his eyes and only saw Rogue silhouetted against the sun. He lowered his hands and allowed her to put the glasses on. Rogue watched as his red eyes dimmed drastically as the dark lenses covered them. "You okay?"

"Jus' fine, p'tite. Merci."

She smiled faintly. Surprisingly to her, and hell, to Remy too, he wrapped himself in a hug around her. Rogue stiffened at the sudden movement, but relaxed. She realized how much she meant to him now. Somehow, thoughts that could only be described to her as his were swimming around in her head, a majority of them memories from the past few days. She was his light at the end of the tunnel, his goal for a better life. Kurt was in her head now, too, his happiness swelled at finally being able to be with his sister. It, overall, put her in a better mood when she recollected these thoughts, but it dimmed a bit when she thought if she had them permanently. But when Remy hugged her, he was telling her that she was the only one in the world right now who knew what he was like, so the last thought of her was canceled out.

Jean sighed slightly and whispered to Scott, "Now that is just too cute. I hope our daughter is like that."

"You mean, our _son_."

"Whatever, Slim," she laughed.

Betsy spoke up. "I'm not sure how long I can keep Kurt covered here. I lost him in the moment with Remy." She glanced to him, and he shrugged.

"Should I 'port back to the jet?"

Scott nodded and glimpsed around for anyone that might see. "You can go ahead. Where did you and Bobby park it?"

"Some warehouse parking lot about a mile and a half away. You might need to brush someone's mind about it though…" he added sheepishly. Scott frowned, but Jean just smiled.

Rogue pulled away from Remy and was almost giddy suddenly. "Can Ah go with ya? It's been so long since ya bamfed me!" She handed the bear to Kitty because she knew Kurt couldn't say no.

He grinned and extended his hand, which Rogue took without question since she had a new confidence from the glove. Remy just watched her go, but she caught him in the corner of her eye. "Ya're comin' too!" Then she turned to Kurt. "He can, cain't he?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, but we may have to stop about a mile in. I'm still wasted from whatever you did." Her smile faded and was replaced by a frown of guilt. "Bet – Rogue I didn't mean it like that." He gulped at both slips he had made. It's amazing how much this girl had changed since he'd last seen her. The major thing being that she was now a mutant, though that obviously just happened and not while she was on her own. Somehow, he just wished for his innocent little sister back, without the marred soul that she had because of her experiences. He wished that she were coming up to stay because their mother had recommended that she spend time with her brother, and that she hadn't run away. She was tainted now, with a new name and look. Just more things he'd have to get used to.

Rogue nodded in understanding. Kurt would teleport her around when she was younger and after awhile he would be so tired. She helped Remy up and held onto his hand. "Let's go!"

Kurt smiled and looked to the others. "See ya in a few." He closed his eyes and in a flash, a cloud of pink smoke replaced him, Rogue and Remy.

"I'll go pull up the van," Logan grunted, referring mostly to Jean, since she was in her 7th month of pregnancy.

The trio reappeared and Remy took a step back from Rogue and Kurt, realizing what had just occurred. They were in the middle of what appeared to be a shopping area. Remy glanced wildly around, catching the eyes of a few people. His eyes widened behind his glasses as people finally saw Kurt. "Chere," Remy started. Kurt looked rather faint and Rogue was supporting him. She looked at Remy, her eyes open with fear.

"What do we do?" She mouthed. She shook Kurt. "C'mon, Elf," she whispered. "We're not in the most elf friendly place raht now."

"Just a minute…" he murmured, passing out.

"No! Kurt!" She whipped her head back up to Remy, tears brimming in her endless emerald eyes. "This is mah fault!" She placed Kurt gently on the ground and was ready to run, but Remy found enough time to grab her arm.

"P'tite, don' freak out." He finally heard a scream in the tiny audience that had gathered. He ignored the pattering feet of running and concentrated on Rogue. "C'n y' do t' him what y' did earlier an' get us out of here?"

"What do ya mean? Ya're not makin' any sense!" She struggled against his arm, but he held on.

"Rogue, dat Betsy femme said y' had powers like me an' dat y' got 'em from touchin' my hand. An' dat y' did dat disappearin' t'ing like y' brot'er, too. Just touch him an' see if it works, 'cuz he don' have anyt'in' left t' get us outta here."

"Remy… Ah don't wanna hurt him again. Look what happened already!" She cried out, tears now running freely down her face. He hated demanding such a thing of her since this was just technically an assumption at how her power actually worked.

He knelt down in front of her and held her shoulders. "I'll be right here wit' y'. I'll make sure y' don' hurt him an' dat y' c'n get us outta here." He heard several shouts of 'demon' and 'mutie freaks' among the crowd and several whistles. Rogue heard them, too, and with a sniffle, she bravely stripped off one of Kitty's gloves. She held Remy's hand with her still gloved one, while he grasped onto Kurt's shoulder.

Rogue lowered her index finger down to Kurt's forehead. She gulped and made the contact. She felt the sliver of power connect between her tiny finger and his furry skin and suddenly she was cascaded with new images and power. "How do Ah do it?"

Remy froze. "Umm… jus' t'ink of somewhere y' rat'er be den dis, I guess."

She nodded shakily. "All raht." She closed her eyes and her forehead scrunched in thought. Remy glanced around warily at the officers coming their way. One had broken through the crowd and was reaching towards them, but Remy shielded Rogue and the unconscious Kurt. The officer's hand was mere inches away when they finally disappeared, leaving the crowd awed and confused.

When they appeared again and the pink smoke had dissipated, Remy checked their surroundings. They were inside something, of which he could only assume was the jet that the others had been referring to. He looked at Rogue, who had slumped down next to Kurt. "How did y' know t' come here?"

She shrugged tiredly. "Ah woulda rather been here, Ah guess." She smiled slightly, though her eyes showed her weariness.

"What the hell…" came from the cockpit and Remy turned to see a male teenager a tiny bit older than Kurt, possibly eighteen from Remy's perspective. He was tall with eyes crystal blue like ice and light brown hair. "What happened to Kurt?" He ran over and glanced at both Remy and Rogue twice before attending to Kurt.

"Ah happened ta him," Rogue whispered as she slipped the glove back on. Remy walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"C'mere, p'tite." He hoisted her into his lap and she curled up reflexively. "Get some sleep," he murmured into her unique hair. She nodded sleepily and yawned. Remy returned his attention to the other teenager present. "I be Remy an' dis is Rogue."

"Bobby," he said simply as he extended his hand. Remy shook it. "What happened to Kurt?" he repeated. "He usually doesn't pass out after teleporting unless he's done it more than necessary."

Remy glanced down at Rogue, whom had also passed out from exhaustion. "She did somet'in' t' him, t' de bot' of us. Somehow she took our powers t'rough touchin' us… she did it t' him twice, once by accident, anot'er t' get us out of who knows where." He told Bobby the entire story of what happened since the people from the institute came to the hotel to that moment.

Bobby just listened, awestruck. His own powers had manifested when he was fourteen, so hearing that this girl was days away from turning eleven seemed so young. When Remy was finished explaining, he was tired himself of the whole story and wanted nothing more to curl up next to Rogue and sleep. It obviously showed. "Hey, Remy, wait," Bobby said, kneeling down beside him. "Do you think you can just stay awake till the others get back? I think the story would sound better coming from you since this is all so new to me."

"Dey don' know anyt'in' 'bout her power eit'er," he all but moaned. With a tiny stretch, he gathered Rogue closer to him and rested his chin on her head. Bobby didn't bother to keep him up this time.

Rogue blinked her eyes hazily and found herself in darkness. "Remy?" She called out, hearing her small voice echo into the emptiness. "Am Ah all alone now? Where did everyone go?" She thought aloud, though the words never came directly from her lips.

"chere…"

"Remy?" She heard him call to her, though his voice sounded empty and weak. "Where are ya?"

"don't know…"

She started pacing towards the voice. "C'mon, Remy, one more time."

"rogue…"

She finally saw him, huddled in a corner, with a pale spotlight over him. She didn't know where the light was coming from nor did she care. "Remy, what's wrong with ya?"

He looked up at her and Rogue was shocked to see that every part of him was gray, even his normally blazing eyes were dull. "don't know, p'tite…"

She knelt down beside him and started to reach out to him, but saw that her gloves were missing so stopped mid-movement. She glanced around, seeing darkness stretch out until there was another spotlight with a huddled figured. "Ah'll be back," she called over her shoulder as she ran to the other light. She knelt down beside this one and saw Kurt, his fur still blue, but gray was a prominent color for him as well. He didn't look at her at all, just laid on the cold surface of… wherever they were. She stood up and checked back to see the spotlight with Remy gone. He had just vanished. "Remy?" Her voice was echoing again. "Remy, come back!" She yelled louder, the echo smacking into her frail form. She fell over next to Kurt and saw he was fading grayer with every second passing. Regardless of whether she had gloves or not, she reached out to touch him. He was fading white now, and her hand fell through him with a ripple and he dissolved into the light, leaving her in pitch-blackness again.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her head in her knees. Sobs caught in her throat and she released them with a long, hollow wail.

TBC


	10. Only in Memories

Street Livin' 

Chapter 10

Remy woke to find himself in a bed. The bed wasn't as comfortable as the one in the hotel, but it was better than the floors he slept on for the last few years. His eyes finally fluttered open only to see a huge blue form wearing a lab coat standing by a table, peering into a microscope. Even though he had seen Kurt, nothing prepared him for this beastly blue person. A gasp passed his lips involuntarily and he sunk into the bed further. The person heard him, however, and turned slowly. "Ahh, Remy, you're awake."

Remy recognized the voice. He didn't believe it though. "Y' were de homme on de phone?"

He grinned a fang-filled smile and extended his large hand, which was sort of like a paw with an opposable thumb; claws included. Remy tentatively returned the handshake. "Hank," he reminded him.

"Right… I didn' expect t' be meetin' any more blue people today…" he joked, letting a nervous laugh crawl out of his throat.

"I believe I will be the last one for awhile. Our winged compatriot, Warren, has blue skin as well, but he at the moment has taken a leave of absence for his corporation."

Remy's eyebrows furrowed. "He's blue an' he still works."

"Courtesy of an image inducer that I invented myself," he beamed proudly. "Of course, it wouldn't have been possible without the funds of Xavier, which you know that is where you are now, correct?"

Remy nodded numbly. His eyes trailed to his left where Rogue was whimpering in her sleep. "Is it okay if I get up?"

Hank motioned towards her. "Yes, but heed caution. I'm still unsure of her abilities."

Remy slid off his bed and walked the short distance to Rogue's bed slowly. He climbed up next to her and just observed her sleeping form. A thin sheet of cold sweat had appeared on her face as her face contorted with anguish. "Henri, what's wrong wit' her?" Remy asked, worried.

Hank was immediately on the other side of the bed. "She appears to be having a nightmare, though it may have something to do with today's earlier occurrences… I'll page the resident psychics at once!" He ran back to his desk and dialed an extension number.

Rogue was beginning to moan. "remy…?"

Thinking quickly, he wrapped his hands in her blanket before holding her pale bare one. "I'm right here, p'tite," he whispered.

"remy… come back…"

"Rogue, I'm right here." He said more sternly as he reflexively rubbed her hand, trying to sooth her out of her sleep. Her lips began to tremble and a sob passed through her lips. Her body racked with tremors and suddenly, she snapped up into a sitting position, eyes wide with fear. Her head whipped around wildly, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She must have glimpsed at Remy three times before realizing he was next to her.

"Remy! You're here!" She threw herself onto him, clutching onto his clothing as if he were a lifeline.

"'Course I am. Where would I have gone?"

"Ya disappeared in mah dream… it seemed so real Ah thought Ah was alone fohever… Kurt left me, too. It was all dark an' cold an' scary. Ah don't evah wanna have that dream again." She shuddered against him. She looked up at him with watery eyes. "Where is he?"

Remy motioned to the bed next to her. She turned and saw him still unconscious. "Gawd, what did Ah do ta him?" Guilt plagued her and felt like a huge weight on her heart. She didn't dare leave Remy's side for him though. She was too afraid to go near him and she also felt too weak to make any sort of movement.

"We're still attempting to figure that out, Miss Rogue." Hank said, returning to her beside.

She recoiled into him, obviously frightened of his appearance. "Who are you?"

"We spoke on the phone this morning. I'm Hank, but known for obvious reasons as the Beast." He smiled gently at her, not wanting to flash fangs as he mistakenly did with Remy earlier.

"Phone? Ah don't remember talkin' on the phone… Remy, where are we?" Her eyes were wide still, but this time filled with confusion.

"Chere, we talked t' Henri dis mornin' about comin' t' de Xavier Institute." Her face didn't change at all, showing she did not register a single fact. "Y' don' remember anyt'in'?"

She looked away from him, staring into nowhere, trying to reorganize her thoughts. "Ah can't remember a thing… Foh some reason Ah remember you an' Kurt, that's it. Everythin' else is black…" her eyes closed as it came together. "Like mah dream," she whispered sullenly.

It was then Betsy came into the room, followed closely by a man in a wheelchair and Jean. Hank stepped aside as the man in the wheelchair took his place. "Rogue? I'm Professor Charles Xavier," he extended his hand. "Welcome to my school." Rogue glanced down to her bare hand idly and didn't bother to shake hands. Remy, instead of leaving him hanging there, took his hand instead. "Ahh, you must be Remy, the sworn guardian of our young Southern belle." He smiled kindly, brown eyes friendly and inviting. Remy couldn't help but noticed how much light reflected off his shining, bald head. He figured his nerves were getting to him and a laugh escaped his lips.

Xavier caught him glancing and smiled more, but then turned his attention back to Rogue. "You seem frightened, child. Is something the matter?"

"Ah don't know where Ah am or why Ah'm here," she murmured, recoiling even further into Remy.

"What is this?" Xavier asked, confused. "You're at the Xavier institute, Hank told the team you contacted us earlier…" He looked to Hank for an explanation, but received an uncharacteristic shrug from the Beast.

She looked to Remy to speak for her while she buried her head into his chest. She was afraid. Why was her head suddenly blank? She remembered Remy and Kurt and them fading out of her mind. She knew that her powers were dangerous but she knew there had to be more. For the life of her though, she couldn't remember a damned thing. "It might have somet'in' t' do wit' her powers." His eyes traveled down to her and stared her straight in the eyes. "Chere, d'ya remember anyt'in' 'bout how dey work?"

She shook her head softly and a tear fell down her cheek. "Would it be possible…" Xavier began. "If we went inside your mind, Rogue? Your memories have to be in there. It's not likely they just disappeared, never to be remembered again."

"Somethin' tells me that Ah don't wanna remember me," she answered gravely. "Why else would Ah suddenly fohget mahself?"

Xavier nodded and looked to Remy, who nodded as well, knowing full well what her past was full of. "It's what makes you a person, though, Rogue."

She lifted her head up from Remy's chest, her eyes still shining with tears. "Fine, do what ya hafta then." Her face was pink with slight anger. Who was this guy to tell her what she could have in her mind… although… she was going to be a pretty empty person if she didn't allow him to fix things straight again. Her face paled once again and she relaxed. "Can ya make Kurt wake up first?"

His smile remained warm as he nodded once again. "Of course, but it will take a second."

"Ah understand."

Xavier turned his chair around with the slighted swivel of the joystick located on the right arm of the motorized vehicle and faced Kurt. He reached out with his hand and placed it on Kurt's furry blue forehead. His own forehead scrunched in thought and his eyes shut, concentrating. Remy watched curiously as Xavier worked his 'magic.' Kurt's eyes could be seen rolling beneath his eyelids and suddenly, they snapped open. Gold flamed from his eye sockets for a second until he relaxed.

Rogue reached out to him weakly. "Kurt?"

He was panting and once he controlled his breathing more, he turned to Rogue and smiled weakly. Rogue mirrored his smile and lowered her hand. "Ah'm ready foh ya," she whispered. Xavier faced her once again and reached his hand out in the same fashion as he did for Kurt. "Wait!" He halted mid-motion as Rogue cried out. "Ah don't mean any offense by this… but somehow Ah'd feel better if she did it." She pointed at Jean, who had been sitting on the medical bed behind Kurt's.

"Me?" She looked between her and Xavier several times before asking "Why?"

"You're warm. Ah remember that. You're warm like Remy… not as much as him, but there's enough that Ah trust ya, Ah guess."

Jean walked, more like waddled in her stage of pregnancy, over beside Xavier. Hank pushed a chair underneath her so she could be more comfortable. She smiled her thanks and turned her attention to Rogue. "How do you remember me?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah don't know… it's like a flame sparked up in mah head… Ah can only guess Ah got it offa Kurt. But Ah dunno…"

"It's okay. I'll still do it. I just need you to relax completely and let your mind open to me." Rogue nodded and closed her eyes, once again leaning into Remy. For a second she almost looked asleep, but Remy noted sadly that she was too peaceful to actually have fallen asleep.

Jean raised her hands to her temples and her brow furrowed in concentration. Remy watched as the psychic fire once again sprawled out from her forehead and touched Rogue's. Rogue breathed in quickly from the contact as it plunged into her head. "Is she okay?" Remy asked Xavier.

"Most people react similarly to a psychic probe. What's going on is nothing out of the norm."

Rogue stiffened suddenly against Remy as Jean knocked down the mental barriers that barricaded her mind. A startled gasp came from both of them simultaneously, but Jean's was more like a cry of exasperation. Her concentration couldn't hold any longer so she cut the connection. The psychic fire diminished and retreated back to Jean's mind like a wounded dog. Rogue went limp in Remy's arms. "What happened t' her?"

"Her mind was so distressed when I broke the shields she unknowingly put up. I put her to sleep so her mind could get used to the memories again."

"So she can dream 'bout it all 'gain?" Remy scowled. He pulled Rogue closer to him and cradled her body. Her face was perfectly blank as if it was a normal pleasant slumber.

"Right now she's just experiencing rest," Xavier answered. "Jean has just made it so she cured the amnesia and knocked her unconscious for her own good. She shouldn't dream at all either. I've seen to that."

Remy just shook his head, unconvinced. He let go of Rogue with one hand, still holding her to his chest. "Henri, where are my cards?"

"Your cards?" He quickly bounced – yes, bounced – to one of his desks and scuffled in the drawers. He produced Remy's diminishing pack of playing cards. As he handed the pack to him, Hank and the other members of the room saw Remy's hands tint a brilliant orange. He had Rogue leaned in the crook of his right arm, his left hand extended away from her. He fumbled the cards out of the pack, dumping them out on the bed. As daintily as possible so as not to touch the bed, he picked up a card. He held it outstretched away from himself, Rogue and everyone else, though he was tempted to hold it to the institute people. With a stifled cry, he allowed the painful blaze to flow into the card. He felt it on the brink of exploding and let it go. It fluttered for a split second before blowing up with a small poof. The remaining ashes fell to the bed and floor softly like feathers.

"Is that the only form of control you've found?" Xavier asked.

"So far. I t'ink it's pretty good for two days."

"It is. Does it activate randomly?" He rested his chin on his hand, elbow propped on the arm of his wheelchair. Remy decided to call this 'the investigating teacher/recruiter' look. He didn't know whether to be amused or miffed with the look.

"Here an' dere. Usually when I'm t'inkin' a lot, or barely at all," he said with a smirk. _Confusion is always a plus._ He thought wickedly.

"Or when your emotions are heightened?" Xavier suggested.

Remy thought about it; the first time in the alley, in fact, all the encounters with Victor he was frightened. A second ago, he was angry to hell. "Oui," he finally mumbled.

Xavier nodded, which came off as quite arrogant to Remy. He wasn't sure if he liked what he was getting into, what Rogue had gotten him into. He didn't feel too secure with all the telepaths living there either. Betsy he had already pegged with a slight dislike due to her snobbish conduct, Xavier with his royal "I rule all" aura, and Jean, well, she wasn't too bad as of yet, even though she was making crap assumptions with people she didn't know very well. So far Remy only trusted Kurt because he was blood with Rogue. Hank was friendly, but Remy wasn't too sure about him. He couldn't be too bad, though.

"Do we have a room or somet'in' t' stay in?" Remy asked, changing the subject.

Xavier caught the subject change right away, but without faltering, he answered, "You have one of the guest rooms set aside in your name in the boys' wing, as does Rogue in the girls' wing."

"We don' have de same room?"

Xavier smiled, though Remy saw right through it. He was enjoying how he was testing the 'wise old mentor's patience. "We do not encourage coed dorm rooms." He received a look that was half a pout, have a scowl. "Visitation is fine though." Remy's face faded neutral.

"Sounds good t' me. C'n we take Rogue up t' her room now?"

Xavier glanced to Hank. "If she's just sleeping," Hank responded. "I do not see any problems with it."

Remy fully gathered Rogue in his arms and slid off the bed. Kurt got off his bed as well, ready to move again. He wasn't completely energized for teleporting though. "Hey, Remy," he started. "I'll show you how to get to the wings." He walked to the doorway and waited for Remy. Rogue was tiny in his arms; her own arms curled up in her lap. Her face was still blank and unmoving. The only indication of her being alive was the small wheeze of air passing through her nose with each breath. Her legs dangled like dead weight against Remy's left arm, her hospital gown flapping at her ankles where it would have been to the knee on a female a bit older. The thin material kept Remy protected from her skin, regardless of whether it was dangerous or not.

His arms shivered, as he was in a plain short sleeve t-shirt and scrub-like pants instead of a gown like Rogue. He missed his trenchcoat. He scowled at the thought of them getting rid of it. He looked up at the older Kurt, who was smiling warmly. Yeah, Remy trusted him, even though he looked like something out of a vampire movie.

Without looking back to the others, Remy followed Kurt down the hall, his feet sinking into the carpet. It felt like it had just been installed the day before, but guessing from the wealth of Xavier, they probably had it for awhile and tended to it well. Rooms stretched out to either side of the hallway, but with the doors shut, Remy couldn't see a thing. He glanced back in the direction in which they weren't headed to see a window with a balcony beyond it. The land looked like it extended forever.

Kurt stopped in front of an elevator at the end of the hall, which Remy frowned at. "Y' use de elevator for de professeur?" Remy asked.

Kurt looked at him for a second blankly before answering. "Umm, yeah. You know how hard it can be to get around in one of those things."

Remy nodded, though thought about Kurt's hesitation. They walked into it when the doors slid apart. Kurt punched the 2nd floor button. Remy observed how it was a limited choice of places to go, except for a small blue button below the 1st floor button. With a small smirk, Remy tucked that thought to the back of his mind. Never know when it might be fun to play with.

To break the silence, Remy asked, "So how big is dis place?"

Kurt smiled. "Huge. It's a really great place to live. Plenty of games and things to do in the rec room, the never empty kitchen, the pool out back, a front yard that goes on for half a mile. I could go on for awhile."

"S'okay. It's gon' take me a bit t' get used t' dis. I haven' lived in any place decent in my life." Kurt glanced at him, but figured Remy didn't need his pity. Saying 'I'm sorry' would seem like an insult.

"I just know you're gonna love it. Wait 'til you meet the others."

"Dey're any kids as young as me an' Rogue?"

"Not really. Just Ororo and me for the youngin's. Mrs. Summers is due to have her kid in a couple weeks, so you guys won't be the youngest for too long."

They continued walking down the hallway, once again, closed doors scattered amongst the walls. "Where we at now?"

"Girls' wing. Rogue's room is right up here." They walked up to the next door on the left. "Here we go." He reached for the doorknob but it swung open before he could touch it. Kitty was on the other side with a young African girl with stark white hair and Bobby from the jet.

"We were just making it more homey," Kitty explained, motioning them inside. She motioned to the other girl. "This is Ororo. Ororo, Remy."

He nodded to her and she smiled. "Nice to meet you," she said in a dignified voice, one that sounded much older than the body it belonged to.

"Dis is Rogue," he lifted Rogue up slightly to motion to her.

Ororo stayed smiling. "She's so beautiful," she said aloud. "So small, but she looks like she knows the world inside out."

"Y' could say dat." She and Kitty stepped out of the way so Remy could place Rogue on her new bed. It was freshly made with what appeared to be a homemade quilt. The room was painted a soft pink, which matched the quilt. Small trinkets were around: ballerinas posed on the bookshelves, stuffed animals on the dresser that was yet to be filled.

He sat down next to her on the bed, reveling in the softness of the mattress. He could only hope his was just as comfortable. He turned to the others, but spoke pointedly to Ororo. "So what're y' here for?"

She took a seat across the room by the window. "I can control the weather."

Remy's eyes widened with awe. "Really?"

"Yes. Would you like a demonstration?"

"Sure."

Bobby whispered to Kitty, "She's such a showoff sometimes."

"I heard that," Ororo laughed as she pulled the curtains aside so Remy could see outdoors. Ororo kept her hands down at her sides and closed her eyes, some of her hair sitting up due to static electricity that Remy could only assume that she had created. Lightning flashed and brought his attention back to the window. Thunder sounded loudly as rain began to pour down. A loud screech was heard from outside.

"Dammit to bloody hell!"

"Uhoh," Kitty giggled.

"Who dat?" Remy asked.

Bobby placed his hand on his chest and breathed in to make himself more dignified. "That would be Miss Emma returning from her shopping trip. It appears that she has been caught in the unexpected rainfall." Kitty cracked up in hysterics as Ororo calmed down the storm.

"She's going to have my head, isn't she?" She didn't sound afraid; more like stating the obvious for the hell of it.

"Not if she can't find you," Kitty dared. "C'mon." She ran across the room and grabbed Ororo's hand. "Back in a bit!" They fell through the floor smoothly like flowing water. That's when stomps were heard coming up the steps. A tall blonde girl that Remy guess was twenty years old ran by the door, but back tracked when she realized the door was open.

"Where is the little wench?"

"Emma, calm down!" Kurt said, placing his hand on her arm. She cringed under his touch, but it wasn't because it was of his appearance. She felt like she was too great for the rest of them so no one was allowed to touch her uninvited. He did remove his hand though.

Bobby walked over to her and placed an arm around her shoulder, not caring about her 'no touchy' rule. "Let's just go downstairs and make some cappuccinos while you dry off, alright?"

She snorted under her breath, but allowed him to lead her out. Remy hooked his thumb towards the door. "What's her problem?"

"Like I know." Kurt rolled his eyes. "That was the only person who can get away with that sort of attitude."

"How come?"

"Her dad and Xavier go a ways back - they were in the army together or something. Bobby is the only one of us that can get through to her pretty much though. Guess the Iceman's the only one that can melt the Ice Queen."

"What c'n she do?"

Kurt rolled his eyes again, though it really didn't look like much without the pupils. "Another telepath. She's like Betsy, too, who has no problem with going into your mind without consent. So just be careful. She can turn into diamond, too. Big surprise there."

"An' Bobby can make ice…?"

"Turn himself into it. Produce ice, make things cold, whatever. Sorry to sound bored but it's nothing too spectacular after living with them after awhile."

"I get y'. How long y' been here anyway?"

Kurt looked away for a minute. "When I was nine, Mom heard about this place. She had kept me home for the time before that, home schooling me. There was only so much she could do. I was sick of the isolation and I needed to be around people that understood what it was like to be me. So I left. My actual powers didn't manifest till I was twelve." He turned his head to face Rogue. "Now I'm sorry I ever left. I didn't meet Victor before I did leave." He brushed a lock of white hair away from Rogue's eyes. She stirred into his hand, which he recoiled right away.

"P'tite?"

She only turned over and tucked her hands under the pillow, unconsciously adjusting to the new bed. She sighed happily and returned back to a still state.

"C'n y' help me get her under de covers?" Remy asked standing up. Kurt nodded. They each took a side of the quilt and slid it carefully under Rogue's body. She was too deep into her slumber to even notice. They draped it over her once again. She cooed softly with one of her breaths.

"Are you up for staying here and watching her?"

"'Course. You?"

"You bet." They took a seat by the window, where the sun was beaming proudly down on them.

"Weather changes 'lot 'round here, don' it?"

"Depending on 'Ro's mood. Right now I'm guessing she's extra giggly after that last storm because she got Emma good. That's why she's always so calm to everyone. When she came she had a killer temper."

"Till de prof worked wit' her?"

"You got it."

"How did he help you?"

Kurt thought about it for a moment. "I don't know if he ever did. I mean, there's the control of the teleporting… but my real problem has always been my appearance. Obviously."

"Do y' ev'r leave de mansion?"

"Of course. I have an image inducer that covers all this up." He tapped a watch on his left wrist. Suddenly the blue elf was replaced with a normal looking teenager. "Comes in real handy for Sunday mass. Religious people don't take too kindly to people who look like they're straight out of the place they're trying to avoid." He tapped it again and he was back to normal, tail and all. "I forgot it earlier in the rush to go get you guys which is why I needed Betsy's help."

"Why don' y' jus' keep it on?"

"I don't like to hide. What's the point when you're among people like yourself?"

"Y' got a point," he said quietly. He glanced up to Rogue's bed. "So how long does one of dese psychic sleep t'ings last?"

"She'll probably be out until the middle of the night. Hopefully she'll make it to the morning so she doesn't wake up in a strange area in the dark."

Remy was about to respond, but giggling came from the wall to the left of him. A hand peeked in and turned into the two laughing girls. "How did Her Majesty look?" Ororo asked.

Kurt smiled a fang-filled grin. "Like a drowned rat in a Versace dress. The white silk clinged quite nicely to her as well." That gained an eye roll from both of the girls.

"She with Bobby?"

"Yup."

Kitty sighed with relief. "I still don't understand why he's the only one that can cure her out of her funks. And I'm assuming he's taking advantage of her wet state."

"For looks anyway. You know Emma. Bobby's two years younger than her. Emma's standards are guys over twenty-five with at least three million to their name. Too bad Warren is taken by Betsy." Ororo explained, mostly to Remy, who watched the three with wide dark eyes.

Kurt snapped his fingers in mock-disappointment. "Poor him. Leaves him all for you, then, doesn't it Kit-Kat?"

Her face blushed furiously and she turned to Ororo. "You told him!"

The young weather witch placed her hands on her chest. "I'm never one to tell secrets, you know that!"

"How did you know then?" Kitty demanded.

Kurt broke out into laughter. "I just guessed and you just completely screwed yourself over!" He doubled over and fell on his side, still laughing. Remy just watched them all.

"Ooh! I'll get you for this, Elf!" She pounced down to tackle him but he 'ported out of the way and to the other side of the room by the door.

"This is when I call it a night. Keep an eye on her, Remy!" He ran down the hall, Kitty close on his heels. She could be heard shouting obscene things to him all along the way.

"She'll catch him eventually," Ororo said, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Remy. "They've been having fights like this ever since I came here."

"What's y' story?"

She smiled. "Are you interrogating all the students?"

He shrugged. "Best way t' find out 'bout people: de blunt approach."

"Well, long story short, I came from a tribe in Africa two years ago because of some accident," she paused. "Xavier found me, brought me here. He and Emma taught me English. Emma wanted me to be as prim and proper as her, but I wanted nothing to do with that. Too bad for her that I wasn't going to be her clone." She sighed. "How about you?"

Remy's turn to sigh. "I'll tell y' what I tol' Rogue. My maman didn' want no demon child so I was put up for adoption for ten years. I ran away an' I've been on de streets since den."

Ororo bit her lip and Remy swore he saw it tremble. "I apologize. I just haven't thought about Africa in awhile I suppose."

"Do y' mind if I asked what happened?"

She stood up. "Not today, Remy." She turned her back on him, shadows creeping into the room with a sudden oncoming of clouds. "I'll see you at dinner." She walked out of the room without another word.

Remy decided that everyone intrigued him here at this place, whether he liked everyone or not. Ororo was just as mysterious as him, Kitty and Bobby were just plain cool, and Kurt was a definite friend. Emma could be interesting for laughs, and it looked like he'd have to talk to Kurt about those sort of things later on.

He stood up and walked over to Rogue's bed. She still hadn't moved a bit, but he knew she was alive. He felt her power on the tips of his nerves and shuddered. He hadn't really told the others about that other gift, curse, whatever. In thought, he shrugged to himself and figured he could take it one step at a time.

He still didn't like the thought of being separated with her, even though he had his room only a bit away. He still didn't know where it was though. And considering that Kurt was probably still being chased by Kitty, he wouldn't get a tour any time soon.

"Rat'er wait de time out wit' y', Rogue," he whispered as he crawled in next to her. The bed was large enough for him to slide comfortably next to her without hanging off, or being completely spooned against her. With a sigh, she turned over again, but didn't take any notice of him as she was still asleep. She faced him, her lips parted as she breathed through her mouth softly.

Remy just simply stared at her. "Y' been t'rough too much, p'tite," he whispered. He rolled onto his back and hit a lump down by the middle of his back. He reached down and pulled up the angel bear. Smiling, he placed it under Rogue's arm, which she reflexively curled into. He wondered if the professor was actually telling the truth and she wasn't seeing any of her memories from before. She seemed peaceful enough.

Rogue was back in the office room in New Orleans, watching Remy sleep. He had finished his grapes and lazily sprawled out in her lap. She didn't worry about touching him. This was her dream.

She remembered everything; from the last time Victor hit her, to Kurt's first visit from the institute, to Remy's face when she'd reacted to his eyes for the first time. She decided that her time with Remy had been her favorite, hence her reliving their second night as friends.

She absently stroked his hair, playing with the skin on his scalp. She could feel everything amazingly enough. Somehow she knew she was going to miss the feeling of skin, of everything. Her face fell. Even Remy wouldn't be able to help her through this. He could help her get away from her past life, help her move on, but how was he going to help her deal with this? Her mind flashed to Xavier. He was her only hope. He'd helped everyone else at the institute, what made her different?

With a smile with this realization, she gently prodded at Remy. "Wha?" He mumbled.

"Ah'm ready ta wake up."

"Den go f'r it, chere. I'll be dere."

She knew he wouldn't lie to her. She closed her eyes and with a rush of wind, she was awake.

TBC…


	11. Movie Night

Street Livin' 

Chapter 11

This is just to be said now: I cannot write any accent other than those of Rogue and Remy to save my life. Thank you. grins

Rogue's eyes blinked open in the pitch darkness of wherever she was. Timidly, she called out, "Remy? Are ya here?"

Remy's eyes now opened as he heard her small voice. He didn't realize that he'd fallen asleep. Peeking over her body, he saw the neon light of a wall clock shine that it was quarter after ten. "I'm here, p'tite," he said to her back.

She twisted over and his eyes adjusted to her smiling face. She could only see his eyes, but it was all the comfort she needed. "Where am Ah now?"

"Y' bedroom." He paused as she nodded and squirmed into the bed some more, enjoying the fact that she now had a bed to call her own, that wasn't scorned or tainted in anyway. "How y' feelin'?"

"Good. Everythin's back."

"Dat's cool..." The awkwardness was thick enough to cut through. "Y' okay wit' ev'ryt'in' in dere?"

"It's just like it was befoh. Ah know it won't be as easy ta fohget again though," she sighed. Remy didn't know what to say so they sat in the darkness for a couple minutes, the silence the only company they needed.

Rogue's stomach suddenly started grumbling. She giggled and Remy laughed with her. "Do ya know where the kitchen is in this place?"

He shook his head, and Rogue could tell the movement by the shake of his eyes back and forth. "Y' wan' t' explore?" He suggested, the idea of adventure exciting him.

"Sure!" She sat up in the bed, noticing that she was still wearing the med-lab gown. "Do ya know where a light switch is?"

"Non, I'll find one dough." He got up as well and walked to the door, figuring there would be a switch present to activate the ceiling light. Sure enough, there was and he poised his hand to flick it. He placed a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sudden light and hit it. Light filled the room, chasing away all the shadows that Remy had become comfortable with.

"Do ya think Ah have any clothes to change inta?" She wondered aloud as she walked over to the dresser with its many stuffed animals among the top. She smiled and picked one up, hugging it to her body absently. She placed it back in its spot and opened the drawer at her level, finding her clothes from New Orleans in there. She pulled out the pair of shorts she'd worn the first night and a t-shirt, already washed and folded.

"Want me t' go outside so y' can change?" Rogue nodded, and Remy stepped out of the door, closing it behind him. A little over a minute later, Rogue stepped out, donned in simple black mesh shorts and white short-sleeved undershirt. She also had Kitty's gloves on. She extended her left hand towards him, which he accepted without hesitation. He noted how comfortable she was with the limited contact of the gloves creating a barrier between them; before she had been slightly iffy with even hugging him.

"You lead the way, Remy," she smiled as she swung their arms back and forth. She had enough energy in her now to skip down the hall, but for Remy's sake she didn't. He was still older than she and she looked up to him, so she mustn't act immature, right?

He smiled and started them down the hallway the direction opposite than Kurt had brought him. What fun was exploring if you backtracked? They turned at the corner at the end of the hall and found another long hallway of bedrooms. "How many people live in dis place?" He mused aloud.

Rogue just shrugged. "No idea. There's a lot of students here, Ah think." They walked by a few doors and found another turn, but stopped when they heard a door open behind them.

They turned to see a young man, possibly seventeen, with jet-black hair and a fair complexion. He peered at them curiously with cool blue eyes. "Who are you?" He asked them in an unrecognizable accent.

"Ah'm Rogue," she answered tentatively.

"Remy."

The teen smiled. "Piotr Rasputin. You must be the new kids."

Rogue smiled as well, now more comfortable with the introductions. "That would be us. Where ya from?"

"Russia. You are from the South, da?"

Remy nodded. "Bot' o' us."

"Ah," Piotr responded. He seemed to be in thought for a moment before asking where they were headed.

"De kitchen. We slept t'rough dinner, I guess."

The Russian laughed. "You two were the big topic, too, amongst the students. It would have been nice to talk more formally."

"Really?" Rogue asked, taking a step closer to Piotr, pulling Remy with her. "What were y'all sayin'?"

"Just the usual whenever someone new comes. This place is much like a high school from international mutants. That is why I'm here, Ororo, Sean… I could go on." He laughed again.

"So where's de kitchen?" Remy wished to talk longer, too, but his now growling stomach demanded otherwise.

"Da, of course, Tovarvisch." He smiled and pointed in the direction they were originally headed. "Turn one more time and you will find the stairs – head right at the base. And follow the path of destruction. Bobby and the other older students are still down there for movie night. There will be a constant flow in and out of the kitchen so it shouldn't be hard to find in the least."

"Thank ya," Rogue smiled sweetly and looked at Remy.

"Merci, homme. Talk t' y' later." They turned around again as Piotr went back into his room.

They followed his direction, down the stairs, passing the main foyer and living room, which was _huge_. "Kurt told me this place was big, but Ah wasn't expectin' this," Rogue awed as she looked at all the extravagant furniture and décor.

"'Big' is an understatement, cherie." He stepped up to what he knew from his knowledge was a Ming vase perched on its own stand for display. A memory played through his mind that he had long forgotten.

When he was first on the streets, the first couple nights had been horrible. He was desperate for food and shelter, and he was regretting ever leaving the orphanage.

He had met up with another boy named Pierre who was slightly older, maybe fourteen or fifteen. He offered Remy a place to stay as well. While Remy did cheap lifting, much as he taught Rogue, Pierre was into burglary.

One night, Remy had been sleeping when Pierre came into their apartment, panting. He had several handfuls of jewelry shoved into his pockets and a bag slung over his shoulder. Grinning, he showed the bag's contents to Remy. There was the vase.

Sirens drew closer to their safe house and Pierre panicked. "Y' got caught, didn' y'?" Remy had asked innocently.

Pierre had glared at him and then punched him in the gut. "Don' y' ever mock me like dat, y' miserable li'l punk!" He grabbed his stuff and ran out the door, followed closely by the blinking lights of the cop car chasing him.

Remy fell to the floor, his frail body hacking up blood and gasping for air. Amidst the noise he was making, he heard the vase shatter on the cement ground outside and Pierre cursed, just as Remy passed out…

"Remy!" Rogue screamed as the vase fell to the floor with a loud crash.

Remy shook himself out of his trance and saw as the vase broke by his socked feet. "Oh, merde," he mumbled.

They both heard footsteps coming at the same time. Rogue grabbed Remy and pulled him away from the mess. Emma and a person that neither of the Southerners had met came stomping in. "Oh, what have you little monsters done?" Emma squealed, pressing her hands to her hips, complete with perfectly manicured fingertips.

"Emma, calm yerself down." The man, about the same age as Emma but taller with red hair, walked closer to Remy. "What happened, lad?"

Remy looked at his feet, where some of the vase had shattered among his socks. "I must' leaned against de stand too hard. I was rememberin' somet'in'." He looked up to the red-headed man.

He smiled. "It's all right. Ye an' the young lass go sit in the rec room while I clean this up."

"And just what are we going to tell Xavier when he finds out, Sean?" Emma huffed.

"He dinnae mean anything by it, Emma. Cool it. Show them to the rec room," he said, making his last sentence sterner. Emma huffed again and walked ahead of Rogue and Remy. They glanced at each other for a second, and then followed her white platform slippers.

"Emma, what happened out there?" Bobby asked as she sauntered back into the room.

She hooked her thumb backwards. "The brats broke one of Xavier's priceless vases."

Remy had grabbed Rogue's hand on their way in and cringed at the venom in Emma's voice.

"Get off it, Frost. He'll get a new one tomorrow." An Asian girl chewed silently on popcorn. "Aww, are they them?" She got off the chair and ran to Rogue and Remy. "I'm Jubilee, resident firecracker at yer service." Her silky black hair hung just below her shoulders, partially held back by a yellow headband. She turned back to the others. "Why do I always miss out on the newbies?"

"Jubes, you've been back from college for three hours. They've been here about eight," Bobby laughed. "You guys want some popcorn?" He lifted the bowl in their direction. Rogue nodded and walked over to him and the bowl. He patted the empty seat beside him and she sat down. She looked at Remy in the doorway, and then glanced to the empty spot on the other side of her. He nodded and took the seat beside her, reaching across to get some popcorn. Bobby offered him the bowl.

Kitty glanced up from the floor. "You two hungry?"

"Very." Rogue said through a mouthful of popcorn, a few crumbs flying from her mouth and onto her lap. She shrugged and giggled.

"I'll go heat up some leftovers. How do hot roast beef sandwiches sound?" Both of the Southerners stomachs growled in response. Kitty grinned and stood up. "Back in a few." She left out the door on the opposite side of the room.

"What're y' watchin'?" Remy asked after he swallowed a mouthful of popcorn. He reached for another handful almost immediately.

"_Lethal Weapon 2_," Jubilee answered, sitting down next to Remy, filling the final seat on the couch. She looked to Bobby. "Do ya think it's okay if we let the squirts watch it with us?"

He shrugged. "Beats me. Can you kids handle fighting and bad language?"

"I think we should send them back upstairs," Emma spat from her 'throne'.

"No one asked you," Jubilee snorted. "You didn't even want to watch this movie."

"It's not my fault you don't have the right mind to watch _American Beauty_," she pouted.

"Ugh, lass, we watched that three weeks 'go anyway," moaned Sean as he came back into the room.

Remy noticed the bag in Sean's hands, figuring it was full of the vase. "Am I gon' get in trouble f'r dat?"

"Xavier may be a tad upset, but he of all people should know the consequences of having expensive items around kids with new powers they aren't in control of."

Remy remembered that he hadn't even used his power. Just a memory caused him to unconsciously tip it over. But he simply answered "okay."

Kitty called back in "Dinner time!" She came into the rec room, wielding a tray of hot roast beef sandwiches, chips on the side and a cup each of lemonade. She set the tray on the coffee table. "Here ya go," she smiled warmly.

Rogue slid down from the couch and in front of her setting. She picked up the heaping sandwich and took a big bite. An "mmm" rose from her throat. "This is so yummy."

"It's not polite to eat with gloves on," Emma chided, her nose turned in disgust from the meat. Kitty was a vegetarian as well, but she wasn't as snooty about it as Emma.

Rogue glanced to the gloves and the beef juice dripping on them. "Ya're raht." She placed her sandwich back on the plate and slipped off the gloves. She smiled meekly before returning her attention fully to her dinner.

Remy cast a quick glare at the blonde and slid down next to Rogue. He smiled and stole one of her chips, even though he had his own. She looked at him, hurt present in her green orbs from the minutes before. But she saw his smile and mirrored it with her own.

Emma watched Remy play with her, a sneer finding its way onto her pursed face. She wouldn't let this girl steal her status at the mansion. She didn't even understand how the attention of some prepubescent boy to Rogue was annoying her to the extreme. She concentrated and sent out a slight probe for the hell of it, just to see what their story was.

The crystalline tinkling reached across the room unseen by the regular eye and poked at Rogue and Remy's minds. Unfortunately for Emma, Rogue screamed out as the feeling hit her still tender mind. Emma recoiled as if she'd been physically struck. It had reached Rogue before Remy had been able to sense it, so he was confused as to why she was suddenly upset.

"Rogue?" Kitty asked, kneeling beside her. "What happened?"

Rogue jumped away from her into Remy, his long pants shielding him from her skin. "Don't touch me! Someone… wanted in mah head."

The three older students collectively glared at Emma as Kitty tried to calm Rogue down. She had curled herself in a ball in Remy's lap.

"Just what did ya think you were doin', Frost?" Jubilee growled in a way that sounded similar to that Logan guy in Remy's mind. "She's just a kid an' yer searchin' her mind?"

"God, Emma, I thought you were supposed to be all morals, too," Bobby scoffed.

"How can she with those clothes," Kitty muttered under her breath.

"P'tite? It's okay, calm down." Rogue's chest heaved up and down fast, her eyes clenched shut.

"It hurt so much…" she whimpered.

"What happened t' her?" Remy asked to no one in particular.

Emma spoke up despite being the least favorable person in the room. "Her mental shields are incredible. They're a bit unstable, but there is a lot of potential to build them up. By that strength and her inexperience though it's hard to say if she put them there herself or someone put them up for her." She lost herself in thought for a moment.

"Should we take her to Xavier?" Bobby asked, kneeling next to Kitty.

"No more psychos…" Rogue said harshly, and incorrectly at that. Emma fought off a smile.

"Rogue… shh, y' need t' stop breat'in' like dat." He began to murmur a lullaby in her ear that he sang to himself whenever he was distraught. It was in French, though, so he didn't know if it would have the same effect on her.

Come down by the river bay 

_Swim all the ghosts away_

_Till morning we'll be lost in dreams_

_You're safe in my arms_

_No one can cause you harm_

Chasing away the demons 

Rogue actually responded by humming along. Remy was genuinely surprised. When the song was over, he cradled her to him again. "You taught me that, Remy," she whispered.

"How?"

"Ah'm not sure. Ah have that in mah head now, like a lot of other things from when Ah touched you."

"How much y' know?"

"Hard ta say. Ah didn't even know Ah knew that song befoh ya sang it."

"So y' don' know if y' 'member how I know it?"

She shook her head.

"What I want to know is why no one told me her powers are on a psionic level, let alone what her powers are," Emma mused aloud.

Rogue's eyes clouded over with a mix of mischievousness and anger. She didn't like this prissy princess one bit. "Want a demonstration?"

Emma eyes her suspiciously. "Sure…"

Rogue pulled herself from Remy's lap and walked over to Emma. "I don't think this is a good idea…" Bobby whispered to Kitty, though Remy heard him as well.

"Let me see yoah hand."

"What? Are you going to read my life lines?" She barked out a laugh as she lifted her dainty hand from the arm of the chair.

"Somethin' like that." Without hesitation, Rogue grabbed Emma's hand, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. Nothing happened for about two seconds and Rogue felt slightly embarrassed. Suddenly the transfer started and with a gasp, Emma snatched her hand from Rogue's tiny one.

Rogue smiled, but then cringed as her body was completely enveloped in a thin sheet of diamond. "Ow."

Bobby stared, mouth gaping. Kitty giggled. "Are you okay, Rogue?"

"Ah'm good. Ah feel like a stick though."

Emma held her head in her hands, a headache teasing her brain. "It takes some getting used to. Congrats, you're now indestructible."

Rogue laughed. "Cool."

"How long does this last?" Sean asked as he gaped along with Bobby. Jubilee found herself laughing with Kitty.

"Ah don't know."

"I suggest you leave the diamond shield up if in fact you have all my powers."

"Ah don't know how ta let it down. Ah never had any control with Remy's power-"

"-But y' did wit' Kurt's." He smiled faintly. No way he was going to let Emma show her up. And Rogue caught on as well.

She looked at Emma. "Why shouldn't Ah let the shield down?"

"Because my telepathy is inactive when I'm in diamond form. You haven't had a psychic's power yet, have you?" Rogue shook her head. "Then there's no way your mind is ready for it."

Rogue glared at her. She told herself to act mature, but Emma pushed her 'childish tantrum' button real hard. "Ah can handle anythin' you can dish out."

"Emma, don't bait her," Sean warned.

Rogue ignored the comment and closed her eyes and clenched her fist. _If Ah can control Kurt's power, Ah can control hers._ She concentrated, feeling all her anger towards Emma center in her mind. She felt her limbs loosen despite that she'd been able to move all along.

"What's goin' on in here?" A voice growled.

Rogue's eyes snapped open and she gazed around hazily. Everything was brighter, like each person had his or her own color.

Logan stood in the doorway, deep blue surrounding him in Rogue's mind. "Ya look angry, Mr. Logan. You should sit down." She smiled warmly as her sleepy thoughts stretched out to him, but he stepped out of the doorway, as if he could physically avoid the green crystalline aura headed toward him.

"What is she doin'?" He looked to the older students in the room just standing there.

Emma rubbed her temples. "She took my powers. She's treading on thin ice now."

Remy glared at her harshly. "What d'ya mean by dat?"

"No telepath has it all under control when they first have their powers. Thoughts of everyone within a certain radius vibrate in the mind like bats screeching in a cave."

Remy looked back at Rogue. She was smiling, the power feeling good inside her, like a game that only she could play. "Chere?"

"Yes, Remy?"

"Does it hurt anymore?"

"Nope. Ah can feel all those walls she poked at… Ah'm tryin' ta build it back up with her powers. All on mah own," she added proudly.

He stepped closer. "How does dat work?"

"Like Legos. Exactly like Legos."

He grinned and played along. "With different colored pieces?"

"Yeah… Ah'm buildin' a gate with the red blocks, too… with two guards that look like you an' Kurt." She smirked. "Ah wanna show you mah castle."

"How can you?"

"Ah'm not sure… Emma?"

"So now you want my help?" She felt her power leak slowly back into her control, a sure sign that Rogue was losing her power. _At least the transfer didn't last too long._

"Can you show Remy what's in mah head?" She glanced around and saw everyone's psychic auras fading. She glanced to her own hand and saw it was no longer glowing green in her mind's eye.

She sighed, annoyed. "Sure, why not." She closed her eyes and plucked the image from Rogue's mind with ease. She wasn't breaking down any walls so it was simple to do. She sent the image quickly over to Remy. He saw a carefully constructed wall made of a kaleidoscope of colors, mainly red. And of course, the little Lego man that was clearly him, trenchcoat and all.

"It's perfect, p'tite." The image faded as Emma broke the connection.

"I think it's time fer the kids ta head up, doncha think?" Logan said, leaning against the doorjamb again.

Kitty nodded. "Come on, you can take your plates upstairs."

"Ah'm not tired though," Rogue whined as Kitty handed her the plate.

"I know, but if Xavier finds out you guys were out of your rooms at this hour he won't be happy. He has a ten o'clock curfew for the students under 17."

"C'n I stay in Rogue's room jus' a li'l bit?" Remy asked with pleading eyes. Rogue nodded eagerly and showed the same doe green eyes.

Kitty's lips twitched as she looked to the others. Bobby and Jubilee shrugged. "I don't see a problem with it. It's not like you kids are gonna do anything."

"What would we do?" Rogue asked, completely oblivious to what they were implying.

Jubilee smiled. "Exactly. Gotta love the youths."

Kitty held their glasses in each hand as she ushered them out of the room. "Don't bother pausing the movie. I've seen it twenty times."

"And that has nothing to do with your Mel Gibson obsession?" Bobby asked back.

"Shuttup, Drake," she hissed.

"So how do you like it here so far?" Rogue asked Remy after Kitty phased though the ground. Both of them figured it was quicker than going down the steps.

"Not sure."

"Ah don't like Emma. Ah don't trust her like Ah do you an' Kurt an' Kitty."

"Ev'ryone is cool here, 'cept her, but I'm still feelin' weird… I guess I can' believe dat I'm gon' be livin' here."

Rogue nodded. "This place is so great. It's a thousand times better than mah house in Mississippi." She sat on the bed, her plate on her lap. "It makes me not miss it even more."

Remy sat next to her, plate balanced in the same fashion. He bit into his sandwich, thoughtfulness sparking into his fire-like eyes. When he swallowed, he asked, "Y' don' miss it?"

"Nope," she said immediately. "Why do ya ask?"

"I dunno how t' explain it… I guess I'm just jealous dat y' actually had some place t' call home t' be wit' family an' all."

"Don't get me wrong, Remy, Ah used ta love mah house an' mah family." A wistful smile appeared on her face. "Ah remember comin' home from kindergarten… Momma would pick me up an take me ta the playground. An' on Fridays we'd get ice cream foh the three of us… we'd hafta bring Kurt's home ta him. He'd always want mint chocolate chip in a pretzel cone."

"What kind would you get?"

She looked at him, hunger in her eyes. Then she leaned closer to him and whispered as if it were a huge secret, "Cookies an' cream in a cup with caramel sauce with a waffle cone on top." Her eyes turned downcast after her reminisce. "Ah haven't had one of those foh so long."

"Maybe Kitty can take us t'morrow," he suggested, trying to lift her spirits again.

"Maybe." Before she took another bite, she asked, "What's yoah favorite kind?"

"Jus' plain chocolate."

Rogue smiled. "Ah love chocolate." She looked at the sandwich in her hands and pouted. "Ah want ice cream now," she laughed.

"Y' wan' sneak down an' get some?"

"They just sent us up here though. Won't they get mad?"

"If they catch me." He smirked. "Rogue, dis is _me_ we're talkin' 'bout here," he said proudly.

"Well then, Mr. Ah-can-sneak-anywhere-Ah-want-because-Ah'm-Remy," she took a deep breath; what a mouthful. "When ya do get caught, Ah mean," she giggled. "When ya do get the ice cream, don't fohget the spoons."

"Y' mean y' not gon' come?"

"Ah only had one lesson of thievin'. Ah'll leave this ta you."

"Aww, alright den. I'll be back." He slid off the bed and left his plate on the floor by her nightstand.

"Ah'll be waitin'." She waved to him as he left. She actually did have every faith in him, but she did realize that this place was a lot different than the streets that Remy was used to. She said a quick prayer in hopes that he wouldn't be on Xavier's bad side the first night of living here.

TBC…


	12. Discovering the Unknown

Street Livin' 

Chapter 12

Remy crept down the hallway, the thick carpet under his feet muffling the sound of his pattering steps. He made his way towards the stairs. He suddenly heard Jubilee at the base. "I've gotta show you this picture, Kit! This guy from school is too hot for words!"

Remy's eyes widened as he heard her coming up. Thinking quickly, he ran silently away from the top of the stairs and down the women's wing once again. With a mental "duh", he realized she would be following him since it appeared she was headed towards her own room.

He sprinted by Rogue's room, momentarily asking himself if he should just go back in there. He kept running though, mainly because if he went back to her empty handed, he would have shown he wasn't the thief he bragged about being. And years of experience would not be for nothing in his eyes.

He continued jogging down the hall completely before turning the bend. He ducked into the shadows and hoped Jubilee wouldn't be traveling further than his current position. He peeked out and saw her knock on Rogue's door. His eyes lit up. He figured he was caught. So he decided to book it out of there.

Meanwhile, Rogue was sitting on the bed, munching slowly on her sandwich. She heard the knock on the door and grinned. She hopped off her bed and ran to the door. "Remy, what kind did ya - -" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw Jubilee on the other side. "Hi," she greeted shyly.

Jubilee smiled. "Just wanted to check up on you guys." She glanced over Rogue's head and didn't see Remy. "Where's yer partner in crime?" She joked.

Rogue's mind cranked for a lie. She'd been lying to people all her life; this shouldn't be hard. "He's in the bathroom. Said the sandwich wasn't agreein' with his stomach."

"So he's in that bathroom?" She pointed to a shut door off to the side of the room.

"That's a bathroom? He said Kurt showed him one along the hallway and was going to use that." _Please, oh please don't make this sound like crap._

Jubilee quirked her eyebrow in thought, but then changed her face normal. "I'll have to tell Kitty that, so she can pass the info on to whoever's cookin'"

"Ah think it's 'cuz he hadn't had anythin' that good foh so long so ya won't need ta do that."

"Alright, kiddo. Is Remy spendin' the night?"

"If that's okay. Ah'm not ready ta be alone yet…" she looked at her feet. She felt she was milking her 'condition' a tiny bit, but she really didn't want to be without Remy.

Jubilee smiled warmly in a maternal matter. "Sure. When he gets back, just stay in the room. Don't need to be caught outside at this time of night. Just let him know about the bathroom over there next time."

"No problem. G'night, Jubilee."

The Asian began shutting the door. "Night."

Remy soon found himself in the elevator he and Kurt had been in at the start of the afternoon. He poised his finger to hit the first floor button, but then remember – and faintly saw – the small navy blue button below the first floor button. Smirking to himself, he pushed it.

The doors slid shut with a near silent woosh and then he began traveling down. He glanced to the floor monitor which had passed by the first floor second before. He descended down for another ten second before elevator stopped.

The doors swooshed open again and Remy blinked. These hallways were much different than the ones upstairs. Metallic floors and walls scaled down to a final door at the end of the hallway. Light reflected off of every surface like a mirror. Remy started walking down the hall, catching glimpses of extra doors along the side. The most intriguing door, however, was the one at the end of the hall.

He finally reached it and encountered a problem. There was a keypad to get inside, and being the curious little person he was, he wanted in. He peered at the keypad. It looked like it needed a four-digit code and fingerprint identification. He shrugged. He placed his hand lightly over the numbers and called on his power. "C'mon…" he whispered. He hadn't had any trouble with the nuisance of a power since earlier that day and now he couldn't even call on it for a simple task. Tapping his fingers – not necessarily on the keys – he tried bringing it up. Nothing.

He faintly heard music on the other side. _Music?_ He decided to knock on the door, disregarding the fact that he should be long asleep due to the rules. He realized this then, and jumped away from the door. The doors slid apart, and Remy saw the man with red glasses called Scott.

He glanced around from what Remy could tell. "I'm hearing things…" he mumbled as he walked back in. Remy took a huge chance and slid into the room as the doors closed. Surprisingly enough, Scott didn't even notice. His brow was furrowed and his hand was held up to his temple. Remy could only assume that Scott's eyes were closed behind the glasses. The familiar psychic fire was surrounding his head.

_Great, anot'er spook_, Remy sighed internally. He did take a moment to examine what he had stumbled into. The room was oval shaped, and along the way on either side of the door sat about ten computer stations, and in the middle of the room sat an oval sized table with chairs surrounding it. It looked as if people had meetings there.

What intrigued Remy most was the window that spanned the entire side opposite the doors. He was surprised it wasn't the first thing he'd seen. He checked over his shoulder before moving from his crouched position. Scott was still concentrating on whatever.

Remy half-crawled to the window to see what was beyond it. His hands fell on buttons that were a control panel in front of it. Careful not to push on any completely, he stood up and peered down. It was another room, much larger than any other room in the mansion. It was plated with the same metal as the hallway outside and as the room he was in.

As he tried to get a better look, he leaned up mistakenly, hitting a 'slide-up' control. Suddenly, the metal folded in several parts all around the room. Machinery cranked and twisted in the form of laser gun and spider looking obstacles.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" _Oops, busted._ Remy turned and saw Scott coming towards him. Remy braced himself to be hit, but Scott walked past him to hit a couple buttons. With a glance out the window, Remy saw that the machinery had gone away again.

"I was lookin' for de kitchen?" Remy shrugged.

"Terrific," Scott sighed angrily.

"Did I do somet'in' wrong?" He asked innocently.

"You have no idea what you've gotten into. Newer students don't find out about this place until _years_ after they've been here."

"I didn' mean anyt'in' by it. I saw de blue button an' it was jus' like 'C'mon, Remy, touch me. I be a pretty p'tite blue button, no harm.' I'm sorry." Inwardly, he was grinning. Wait till he told Rogue!

Both of them looked as the doors slid apart once again, Hank standing on the other side. "Oh dear," he whispered when he caught sight of Remy. "What is he doing in here?"

"I'm trying to figure that out." Scott looked back at Remy. "What are you doing up past ten anyway?" He glanced at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's five after eleven now!"

"Me an' Roguey woke up a li'l after ten because she was still sleepin' from dis mornin'. We wanted somet'in' t' eat so we went downstairs. We didn' know anyt'in' 'bout any rules until we talked t' de ot'ers."

"That doesn't explain why you're out of bed now."

Hank stepped forward. "He was going to discover this place eventually, Scott. Of course, it wasn't predicted that he would in his first twenty-four hours of residence, but none the less, no harm was really done."

Scott stood still for a moment. "I guess you're right…"

"I'll go upstairs right now, promise!" Remy headed for the doors once again, but Hank stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I will escort you up and make sure you go directly to your room."

"But I be spendin' de night wit' Rogue." Scott opened his mouth to protest. "She don' wan' be alone. De girl's been alone half her life." He mainly said the latter for a better excuse, but the more Remy thought about it, the more it was true.

Hank sighed before Scott could say a word. "I really do not see a problem with his reasoning. Besides, what would they do?" Remy hid a small smirk. The older students had asked the same thing. What did they think Rogue and Remy would do? He told himself to ask around the next day.

Hank started to lead Remy out of the room, but he called over his shoulder. "Maybe you should head up as well, Scott. Has Jean contacted you yet tonight?"

"Yeah, she has… I told her I'd be up in less than five."

"Would you like me to wait?"

Scott shook his head. "Not necessary. Remy needs to get to bed."

"Understood. See you in the morning." He smiled briefly before turning his attention back to Remy. They passed through the doors and Remy heard them shut behind him. "Now, Mr. Remy, I know for a fact that you did go back to Rogue's room after Kitty walked you up."

Remy looked up at the blue mutant. "How?"

"I talked with Logan a few minutes after you went upstairs. I was on my way up from my lab and Logan told me what Rogue did with Emma."

"De femme had it comin'."

"I'm not frowning upon what Rogue did, because once in a while Emma needs to be taught a thing or two, but Rogue shouldn't be testing her powers like that when everyone knows so little about them."

"Why are y' lecturin' me? Rogue of all people should know how her powers work. She's gotta deal wit' it in her head. She can test it on whoever she wants. If she wanted t' try it on me, I'd let her."

Hank looked at him sincerely. "My apologies, Remy. I am afraid that the professor has been rubbing off on me in my time here." He paused for a moment. "You really trust her that much, though?"

"'Course I do. She's de only person in my life dat has ev'r cared enough t' stay wit' me. If it weren' for her, I'd still be in N'awlins, pro'bly dead by now wit' dese powers." Remy looked to the ground as they reached the elevator.

Hank was silent for a few seconds. "I'm sorry… I did not mean to bring up this topic."

Remy waved him off. "It's fine. Don' worry 'bout it."

"I still feel awful. Would you like a cup of juice before we go back upstairs?" Hank was no good at this parenting thing. The smallest things he had dealt with in his life were atoms and they were easy compared to a curious thirteen-year-old.

Remy smiled. "How 'bout some ice cream?"

Hank walked Remy back to Rogue's room, the young teen's hands carrying a carton of, by a chance of luck, cookies and cream ice cream. Hank was still unsure of this request, but he just went with it, hoping it would keep the kids in Rogue's room until morning.

"Merci, Henri. See you in the mornin'," Remy said as they reached the door.

Hank smiled gently. "Good night." He walked on down the hallway.

Remy opened the door and saw Rogue picking at her half-eaten sandwich. She looked up and smiled. "Ah was hopin' it'd be you this time."

"I saw Jubilee knock here. She get suspicious of where I was at?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah lied ta her 'bout where you were at. Pretty long bathroom trip, eh?" She giggled. Then she jumped off the bed and walked over to him. "So what kind did ya get?"

He held up the carton proudly. "Cookies an' cream."

Her eyes lit up as she snatched the carton away from him. "Yay!" Then she glanced at him slyly. "Ah heard you thank Hank for gettin' it foh ya. What happened ta stealin' it?"

Remy nudged her towards the bed. "Because I found somet'in' even better t' look at."

"Ooh, what?"

"Dey have dis entire ot'er place downstairs, complete secret." He went on to tell her what everything looked like, including the big room with the machines, and how he got caught.

"What do ya think they use it foh?" She asked, shoving a heaping spoon of ice cream into her mouth.

"No idea, p'tite. We'll just have t' ask around t'morrow or somet'in'." He dove into the carton to get his own bite.

"Ah wanna see it. Sounds really cool."

"I'll have t' take y' down one day. Not'in' too soon because dey're gonna be on special watch for me now."

She nodded, letting a mouthful of ice cream melt in her mouth. Then she spoke up. "Ah have a question, though. Ya said that Scott's a… mental person, too? That brings the total in the house up to like…" she counted on her fingers. "Five!"

"He might have not been… because Henri asked him somet'in' about talkin' ta Jean. So maybe she was in his head?" He shrugged.

"Ah don't like livin' with all these spooks. If Ah didn't have those shields in mah head or whatever Emma called them, they could get in at any time they wanted to." She held her hands up to her head. "Ah don't want them in here anymore."

"Me neit'er. Creeps me out. Dey haven' gone f' me yet dough."

"That's a good sign. Even though Ah thought they would considerin' you're the reason we're up here in the first place. It was just weird 'cuz Ah got mah power the day of. Still freaks me out."

"Oui, me too." He thought for a minute what he had said to Hank about trusting her enough that he would let her touch him.

"What are ya thinkin' 'bout?" She looked at him thoughtfully.

"Jus' how y' powers are. An' how if y' needed t', y' could get mine offa me any time y' wanted."

She smiled. "Really? Ah'll hafta remember that." At that moment, if she could have felt anymore love towards him then, she would have. _He's always gonna be there foh me. More than anyone ever was befoh._ A wash of warmth fell over her, and she felt the coolness of the ice cream slide down her throat more distinctly.

Remy stretched languidly. "I dunno if I'll be able t' fall sleep again."

"Me neither. An' we hafta stay here, too." She said with an audible pout.

"Scott was mad I was outta de room in de first place. I don' t'ink we should try it 'gain."

"Ah know," she sighed. A breeze ran over both of them and the looked to the open window. Rogue got up to close it. She laughed. "What is it?" Remy asked.

She drew the curtain aside to show him. "Full moon. Ya know, when all the creepy crawlies come out ta play."

"Y' scared of dem?"

She looked at him, this time her face suddenly sad. _She flips t'rough emotions so quickly_, Remy noted. "Victor remind me of a werewolf… or werecat sometimes… he just has that… thing about him."

"Like he would be two people?"

She nodded slowly. "Sometimes he could be nice, well, ta Momma anyway. He would apologize foh hittin' her an' get her somethin' nice ta make it up ta her."

Remy abandoned the ice cream carton on the bed and made his way over to the window. He peered outside, glancing over the grounds in the moonlight. Nothing was moving at the time. He couldn't hear any sound either. "I'm sure if we had anyt'in' goin' on de grounds dat de security'd pick it up."

She looked at him with shaky eyes. "Am Ah really safe here, Remy?" He nodded. Slowly, she stepped up to him so her face pressed into his chest and she just stayed there unmoving. Remy, still new at the whole caring about another person thing, tentatively wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She breathed out, her breath unsteady and soft. He rubbed her back in a circular motion.

"If dey don' keep y' safe, p'tite, I will."

She tilted her head up so he could see her face. Tiny salty streams were flowing from her emerald eyes. "Ya promise?"

"Oui." His hand trailed up into her unique hair and gently lowered her head back onto his chest.

"Thank you," she murmured. She continued to cry though. Remy could only assume she was just letting everything go. She shook with sobs and Remy held her without question. He would be there for her, always and forever.

After a bit, she pulled away, rubbing her eyes and nose of excessive moisture. "Sorry 'bout that," she whispered with a smile.

"Don' worry 'bout it." He stepped away from her and peeked out the window. "I got an idea."

She looked at him quizzically as he pulled the screen off the window and looked outside again. "What're ya doin'?"

He glanced back at her, a sly glimmer in his demonic eyes. "I be right back."

"What!" She hissed. Remy latched his hands on the windowsill and jumped out. "Remy!" She ran over to the window and saw him attempting to climb over to the balcony for the next room. "That's Jubilee's room," she called in a loud whisper.

He nodded, somehow getting his left hand onto the edge of the balcony. Holding his breath and closing his eyes, he played on a huge whim that if he swung his weight the right way, he would be able to reach the balcony with his other hand.

"Remy, are you okay?" was the only thing he heard. He opened his eyes and saw that he was hanging on with both hands. "Great, Rogue!" He hadn't done any jumping like that in a long time and it was exhilarating.

"How did you do that?" She was fully astonished.

"I'd have t' do dat all de time," he said as he clambered up the balcony so he was safely on the other side. "Dat time it was easier dough…"

"So… what are ya gonna do now that you're ovah there?"

He thought for a minute. "Umm, I actually don' know… I wanted out of de room."

"So what am Ah supposed ta do now?" She half-grinned, half-pouted.

"Give me a second t' figure dis out." He glanced around. "Do y' have rope in y' room?"

"How should Ah know… give me a second." Rogue disappeared into her room. Remy looked up as he waited. _Dat's_ _where I wan' go._

A few minutes later, Rogue appeared at the window. "Ah made one outta mah bed sheet."

Remy shrugged. "Good 'nuff. Y' tie it t' somet'in' heavy?"

Rogue disappeared and reappeared again in fifteen seconds. "Yup."

"K, toss me de end of it." Rogue did so, though it took a couple tries. Once they finally got it, Remy tied it tightly to the railing of the balcony. "C'n y' walk 'cross it? Use de wall t' help y'."

"Ah dunno if Ah should do this, Rem…"

"Y' c'n do it, p'tite. I have faith in y'."

"You'll catch me, raht?"

"O' course." He smirked. Then he climbed back on the other side of the rail. "C'mon."

"Where're we goin' after this?"

"De roof."

"What?" She took a deep breath. _Ah show Remy Ah can do this. Ah can do this just as good as him an' he'll be proud of me._ She started on the makeshift rope. "How're we gon' get up dere?"

_What de…_ "Rogue?"

"Oui?"

"Why are y' talkin' like me?"

"Ah am?" _Ah was thinkin' in mah head how Ah should be brave like him… it slipped. Ah dunno how though._

"Y' did."

"Oh…" She again thought of him and how agile he was when he jumped across. _Ah can be like that._ Suddenly, her hands started to hurt… but she kept her eyes on the prize.

"Dere y' go… Merde!"

"What!" She lost her balance momentarily before she realized that her hands were stinging with pain due to the fact they were glowing. "Oh mah Gawd, what's happenin'?" She freaked out and completely threw herself off the rope.

"Rogue!"

She left out a high-pitched scream and began to fall before she abruptly stopped midair with a woosh of wind. She began to ascend again and she flew above Remy, burning hands forgotten for the fleeting moment. She soon found herself face to face with the white-haired wind rider.

She set Rogue down on the tiny patio located outside the attic and looked down at Remy. She smiled and brought Remy up in the same fashion. Rogue watched in awe as the girl's eyes glazed over and were solid milky white like her hair as she brought Remy up.

"T'anks, Ororo." She nodded her acknowledgement, her eyes darkening to regular baby blue, which was still odd in contrast to her cocoa skin. "Y' okay, Rogue?"

The younger girl held up her hands. Remy nodded and mutely reached into his pocket. He pulled out a playing card and gave it to Rogue.

She held it in her hands identical to how Remy would hold one. The card was quickly overtaken by the glow erupting from her hands. "Toss it now," Remy instructed. She did and before it touched the ground, it exploded in a tiny poof.

"I heard from the others that was your power," Ororo noted, talking to Remy, though her baby blues were focused on the scattering ashes fluttering to the ground.

"It is. Rogue takes de powers of ot'ers."

"When Ah touch them," Rogue timidly added.

Remy turned to her. "Y' didn' touch me dat time, dough," he mentioned softly.

Rogue wrung her hands together in deep though. "Ah was thinkin' 'bout ya an' wanted ta be brave like ya. Ah dunno where the glow came from.

"What an odd power," Ororo murmured in awe.

"Thank ya, by the way. How did ya know we were out there?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about a lot of things." She glanced at Remy quickly before looking back at Rogue. "I could hear you out there whispering. Hopefully the wind I carried you with muffled your scream. Now I should ask you what _you_ were doing outside." She smiled, though her eyes showed some sternness.

Remy shrugged, smirking. "Can' keep us cooped up too long."

"Every time I see you, that smirk is always present."

Remy's smile turned into a grin. "I guess I've got a reason t' be happy now." He turned to Rogue then. "But dat doesn' help us figure out what happened t' y'."

"Ah don't wanna talk 'bout it, cuz Ah don't understand it."

Ororo nodded. "Headed for the roof?"

"Oui. C'n y' get us up dere so we don' have t' climb?"

"You can go through my skylight. We are on the top floor after all." She led the younger two to one of the few skylights and pulled down a rope from the ceiling. "Go ahead. But don't be too loud this time. Logan's patrol starts at quarter after midnight." She pointed to the clock on the wall, showing they only had twenty minutes before he started.

"Y' gon' come up wit' us?"

"I need to get some sleep. I have classes in the morning." She smiled warmly. The younger two nodded and Remy handed the rope to Rogue. He boosted her up a bit and she scrambled the rest of the way up.

Rogue gave the thumbs up when she was up there securely. Remy held the rope and was about to climb up when he looked at Ororo. "I got a question f'r y' real quick."

"Hmm?"

"Ev'ryone keeps sayin' dat me an' Rogue won' do anyt'in' even if we sleep in de same room. What did dey mean by dat?"

It took every bit of self control for Ororo not to burst out laughing. "I shall ask you a question, Remy, in hopes that it may answer your own. How much do you know about the birds and the bees?" _For being a kid with such apparent street smarts, he's a bit too naïve._

"Birds an' bees, quoi?"

"Sex, Remy. You're getting to that curious age, aren't you?"

"Sex?" He thought about it for a moment and realized he was blushing. "I dunno… I guess dat I notice dat some girls are prettier dan ot'ers or somet'in like dat." Then he looked up through the skylight. "Dey t'ink dat 'bout me an' Rogue! Non!" He could never imagine Rogue like that. She was too young, too fragile… too hurt.

Ororo smiled despite Remy all but screaming. "That's what they mean about not having to worry about it. So don't you worry about it."

"What 'bout me?" Rogue called down.

"Not'in', p'tite." He held onto the rope tautly and pulled himself up. "G'night, Stormy."

"What did you call me?"

"Stormy. Y' know, y' make it rain an' ev'ryt'in' like dat."

Her smile faded. "Do not address me by that again." She kept her tone light hearted, but firm in the same.

"But it suits y' so well," he smirked.

"And that smile is quickly becoming your trademark."

"Y' say dat like it be a bad t'ing. Night." Before she could say anything else, he was up on the roof.

TBC.


	13. Unexpected Visit

Street Livin' 

Chapter 13

"It's kinda cold tonight," Rogue whispered as Remy sat down next to her. Both had their legs dangling over the side of the roof.

"Jus' a bit. How y' feelin'?"

Rogue shrugged. "Hard ta say. This power is so confusin'."

"Dat it is. We should pro'bly tell dem in de mornin' what happened."

She scoffed. "Sure, so they can put me ta sleep again an' poke at mah mind?"

"Dey wouldn' do dat two days in a row, would dey?"

Another shrug from Rogue. "Can we just keep this ta just the two of us? Ah'll try mah best ta keep it under control, Ah promise."

"Chere, dat's like me promisin' dat m' own powers won' happen randomly."

"Ah wanna do it on mah own though!"

He looked her straight in the eyes. "Rogue, how long y' been doin' t'ings f'r y' own, eh? Let someone else take the responsibility. Dis is y' time t' jus' start over an' relax."

Rogue broke the eyes contact as her bottom lip began to quiver. "That ain't fair, Remy."

"What ain't fair?"

"So what if Ah want ta do this on mah own? It's mah power, mah head, an' Ah don't want anyone invadin' it jus' ta find out stuff that Ah already know."

He peered at her profile quizzically. With his one power he hadn't tested much, the one he felt back in his old room, he reached out to Rogue. Felt her quickened heartbeat, her raspy breaths, and her fear. "P'tite," he asked softly. "What're y' afraid of?"

"That they'll know me inside out befoh Ah can even start ta get things tagether on mah own," she responded in a small voice. "They'll know everythin' from Victor an' Momma an' where Ah hid the liquor from her an' mah hidin' spot in the tree three houses down from mah house an' everythin' they ain't supposed ta know without me tellin' them. Ah don't want them ta know. Ah don't want anyone ta know." A silence hung over the pair for a few moments. "Ah didn't even want you ta know," she added almost inaudibly.

"Why?"

She sniffled. "'Cuz now Ah'm just this li'l jaded girl that everyone should feel sorry foh. Ah don't wanna be that way. Ah just wanna be a regular kid. Now Ah have this power… it doesn't help at all!" She smashed her fist on the roof in a sudden burst of anger. "Why did this happen ta me!"

Remy quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Rogue, c'mon, shh, y' gon' wake ev'ryone up an' den we gon' be in a big mess." She struggled for a second before relaxing.

"Why, Remy? Why did this happen ta me? What did Ah ever do wrong ta have this life?"

"I don' have de answers f'r any of dose questions," he answered truthfully. What was the point of feeding her a bunch of processed unoriginal knowledge on the facts of life? Instead, he added, "don' ever t'ink y' alone, dough."

"Ah know… 'cuz you'll be there, raht?" She asked him, her voice tinged with hope.

"'Course. I'll never leave y', remember dat."

"Ah will." Awkward silence enveloped them for a few moments until Rogue spoke again. "Tell me what it was like on yoah own, Remy."

He sighed. He really didn't want to relive his lonely life, but he knew so much about Rogue and he was still a mystery in her eyes. "Y' wan' hear 'bout de orphanage or de streets?"

"Orphanage."

He bit back another sigh. Sometimes he couldn't decide what the worst part of his life was: the orphanage or the streets. Either way, it was going to be hard to talk about openly. "I got t' de orphanage when I was almost one. My maman had me, saw m' eyes an' booked. She left me on some bus terminal about a week after I was born. Some good Samaritan turned me into de chil'ren's hospital. I stayed dere a bit, too. When no one claimed me after ten months or somet'in' like dat, dey put me in de orphanage.

"I kinda grew up on m' own, y' know how kids are."

"They saw yoah eyes an' kept their distance?"

"Oui. Dey got a kick out of callin' me de son of Satan. On Halloween dey wouldn' dare go near me since I 'had de power t' bring my pere from Hell an' make him eat dem'. Really unbelievable crap like dat. Dey were de ones who told me 'bout m' bein' found at de station so I don' even believe dat most o' de time, but it's de only story I got."

"Was anyone nice ta you? Didn't ya have any friends?"

"I had a couple adults dat looked out f'r me, but dat was it."

"They were the only ones that kept ya from bein' bullied? Till ya ran away?"

"Oui." He fell silent after that.

Rogue watched his eyes dim as he somberly sighed. Carefully, she reached her arms up to his left one surrounding her. She hugged the arm closer to herself. "Ah'll never leave ya alone jus' because yoah eyes are different."

"I know, p'tite. Merci."

She smiled and cuddled more into his arm. "Remy?"

"Hmm?"

"… How're we gonna get down from here?"

"Umm…" He glanced over the edge and saw Logan walking about. "First," he said in a much more hushed voice than before. "We're gon' get 'way from de edge because Logan's out."

Rogue nodded mutely and followed his lead. They quietly pulled their legs up from the gutter and shuffled backwards to a safe distance. "Now what," she hissed.

"Still t'inkin'… unless you've got an idea."

She shrugged sheepishly. "We could jus' stay up here 'till mornin'."

"Somet'in' tells me we get wake up calls here, door t' door. We need t' make it back t' y' room."

"Raht… is climbin' outta the question?"

"Not yet… too bad Kitty's all de way downstairs."

"Why?"

"Y' could take her powers an' get us t' y' room real quick."

"Wait!" she exclaimed a bit loudly. She clasped her hands over her mouth and whispered "sorry".

Remy glanced over the edge and saw Logan staring right back up at him. "Merde." He quickly retreated from the edge. "I hope dat idea o' y'rs s good because we've been spotted."

"Ya know how Ah brought up yoah powers by accident befoh? What if Ah tried really hard an' brought up Kurt's!" She was practically giddy with the thought of it.

"G'head, chere. If y' t'ink y' c'n."

"Ah know Ah can." She closed her eyes and thought of her brother. _Mah_ _brother is so smart an' brave too… Ah wish Ah was wish him all those years when Victor - - Okay, thinkin' like that was get me nowhere - - Kurt, blue, tall, furry, mah best friend growin' up, even if Ah barely saw him… smart, taught me everythin' Ah know - - Kurt, Kurt, Kurt - -_ She tried and tried to find his shadow in her head.

Finally, she saw a glimmer of royal blue that could only be his skin color. "Ah think Ah've got it, Remy…" He slinked his hand into hers. _Kurt… Kurt… Kurt… wish Kurt was there… would've kept me safe from Victor…_ She chanted over and over in her head, her mind unconsciously linking her to Kurt…

BAMF!

They dropped from midair with a small 'oomph'. "…Rogue… where are we at?" Remy let go of her hand as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. They were sitting on something soft.

"Ah don't know…" She gasped as a figured moved abruptly in front of her.

"Who's there?"

Rogue's jaw dropped. "Kurt?"

"Beth?" He caught himself. "Rogue - - what're you doing in here?"

"Ah'm still tryin' ta figure that out."

"…Why does it smell like brimstone right now? I haven't teleported in hours." He glanced to the clock. "You should be in bed! If Xavier finds out-"

"He won't find out," she said harshly. "Ah mean, ya're not gonna tell, are ya?"

"Of course not. But he's a telepath, remember?"

Rogue just shrugged in the darkness. She glanced to Remy. "Ya ready ta go?"

"We walkin'?"

She nodded. "Ah don't feel like Ah have another in me."

"How did you get here?" Kurt asked, not ready to believe what she was about to say.

"Ah teleported," Rogue answered casually as if she were saying what color shirt she was wearing.

"… I thought I heard the others say it was temporary?"

"Dey t'ought wrong. Rogue wants t' keep dis part quiet, too…"

"Dammit, Sis… you shouldn't have been like this." Rogue heard him curse again under his breath. "It's my fault."

"Wait… How is this yoah fault?"

"I should've been there for you… taken you up here with me so you weren't facing this by yourself. I guess if I wasn't there to see it that it couldn't have been true… God." Remy watched the elf bury his head in his three-fingered hands. "I prayed for you every day, I swear."

Rogue bit her lip. "Kurt… Ah, don't, Ah mean… it's not yoah fault. Things happen foh a reason, raht? Isn't that what they teach you at church?"

"You mean His purpose for everything?" He laughed bitterly. "I've never believed that with this appearance."

"But y' said before –"

"Yeah, being among friends makes it better, but don't you ever wonder why you couldn't have brown eyes instead of red? Just think how different life could have been. It's not something I brood about constantly, but when I'm alone watching others…"

Rogue swallowed the lump that had unknowingly formed in her throat. "Kurt… Ah…" Her eyes had by then adjusted to the dark and she could slightly see Kurt's dark blue fur and the sheen of his golden eyes. She leaned up a tiny bit to wrap him in a hug. "Ah never thought how hard it could've been foh ya. The three of us have just had it pretty bad, heh?"

"Y' c'n say dat 'gain."

She smiled despite herself. "Ah know you two from the inside-out now, an' both of ya are more than blue fur and demon eyes." She reached her other hand out towards Remy. He took her hand and squeezed it.

"I missed you, Bethany," Kurt murmured into her hair. Rogue didn't dare correct him. The moment would be ruined if she did.

After a few peacefully silent moments, Kurt asked, "Are you ready to go back?"

"Yeah," Rogue yawned. She'd only been awake a few hours and the effort of her powers had drained her considerably.

Kurt nodded to Remy, who in turn said, "Ready."

The demon-looking teen shut his eyes and thought of Rogue's room.

BAMF!

Remy and Rogue landed softly on her bed with a small bounce. "Goodnight," Kurt whispered before he teleported away.

Rogue fell asleep shortly after the return to her room. Remy with nothing to do but listen to Rogue breathe gently, lay on his back beside her and tried to make sense of her new life. Needless to say, he didn't get far before he too fell asleep.

TBC…


	14. Morning Exercises

Street Livin' 

Chapter 14

As expected, wake up calls occurred at 7:00. Remy was figuring on a tap on the door, but what everyone at the institute experienced simultaneously was a psychic nudge.

"Betsy!" Jubilee hollered from next door, even though only the neighboring rooms heard her. Remy had to admit that it was a tad bit more effective than a physical call. Not one to have ever been ordered around by anyone ever, he would have rolled over and ignored a simple knock on the door. This way did cause a tiny headache though.

He sat up and saw Rogue still slumbering. He poked at her covered shoulder. "Time t' wake up."

"Hmm?"

"Y' didn' feel Betsy wake ev'ryone up?"

She shook her head and yawned. "Might have somethin' ta do with mah castle," she said proudly.

"Pro'bly. Gon' have t' get me one o' dose. Her goin' in t' my head gave me a headache."

"Ah'm sure she didn't mean ta give ya one."

He shrugged. "It'll go 'way. C'mon, let's see what dis place has for breakfast."

She grinned and hopped off the bed. "Ah could go for a stack of chocolate chip pancakes with lots of syrup an' butter. Ooh! An' bacon, too!"

Remy took a deep breath. "I c'n smell dat bacon all de way up here."

"Ah wonder who's cookin'… smells like they're doin' a great job."

"Dey pro'bly order de stuff in. Too many kids f'r jus' one person doin' de job."

"Hmm, raht. Didn't think of that."

The two made their way to the expansive dining room where many of the students had already helped themselves to the buffet of food. Rogue took no time in discovering the pancakes and that there were, in fact, chocolate chip ones.

Remy watched her fill her plate up and hope she could fit it all in that tiny body of hers. _She'll bulk up in no time… speakin' a' bulkin' up…_ His eyes floated over the large assortment of food and couldn't decide where to start. His devil eyes would focus on one thing and in turn his stomach would growl in anticipation. His nose wasn't helping either. The smell of Danishes and then bacon and then fresh fruit and then cinnamon buns - - he couldn't choose! He decided to just pick up anything his hand grazed over.

"Gumbo," a low voice broke him out of his revelry of senses. He turned and was face to face with Logan.

Remy kept his gulp quiet, but he had a feeling Logan heard it "Somet'in' y' wanted, homme?"

Logan glared with cool blue-gray eyes, but didn't say a word. He snorted though. Remy suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.

"Is dis 'bout last night?"

"I dunno. Is it?"

"I know y' saw me on de roof."

"An' heard Rogue," he added. Not once did his eyes leave Remy's. The young Cajun was so tempted to drop his plate and run, but something told him that letting Logan not scare him would piss the older man off more.

"Y' point?"

"Ya should know the rules by now, especially goin' downstairs past 10."

"We weren' downstairs, dough." He inwardly grinned, but kept his face as innocent as he could manage.

Logan was not impressed. "You know what I mean." He unsheathed the claws in his left hand and stabbed the sausage on Remy's plate.

"If y' wanted some y' could've asked."

Logan actually cracked a smile. He pulled his claws from the greasy meat. "Somethin' tells me that you an' me are gonna get along just fine."

"Was pokin' my sausage up necessary in dat conclusion?"

"It was. Here," Logan took the plate from him. "I'll eat this one, just get yerself another."

Remy nodded and grabbed an empty plate. After loading it up with his fill of sausage again, he asked "Why y' bein' nice now?" He followed behind Logan as they picked up their various things to eat.

"I don't like followin' the rules here either. Everyone has this impression that Chuck'll kick whoever out that doesn't follow the rules. He comes off as stern, but he's just don' his job as father of all these kids."

"So… jus' because I'm some punk kid who reminds y'self of a younger you, y' gon' take it easy on me?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, Gumbo. Yer gonna learn like everyone else why I'm the Wolverine around here."

"De Wolverine?" He bit back a laugh. "So y've got some messed up nickname. Y' don' scare me in de least."

Logan moved his face closer to Remy's, close enough that Remy could feel Logan snorting air onto his nose. "You spent a few years on the streets so you think you've seen it all? You've got yer whole life ahead of ya. Just wait till ya see what the rest of the world is like." Remy took a step back. After that comment, he was speechless. No way could he think of some cocky comeback to something that extreme. The guy had a point.

Meanwhile, Rogue had taken a hefty amount of food and found a seat by the window. She was quietly munching on some bacon when she was approached by Jean. "Can I sit here?" She asked, motioning to the empty spot next to the younger girl.

Rogue was actually saving the seats on either side of her for Kurt and Remy, but she couldn't find it in herself to say no to the very pregnant woman. She scooted over and said: "Be mah guest."

"Thank you. If I had stood for another minute I think my knees would've buckled." She laughed in a way that unsettled Rogue. It took her a second for her to realize that it was the same laugh as her mother's, or something very close.

"You're not mah momma, are ya?" Rogue asked suddenly. Jean's jade green eyes twinkled at the question. "Ah mean, she can act like other people. You sounded like her foh a minute there."

"Oh… I see. I'm not sure what to feel by that…"

"How come?"

"I either sound like the woman you despise or I have a motherly laugh." She smiled in order to overlook her first comment. She knew the second she said it that it was stupid. She'd seen in the girl's head of course. "I've been practicing everything," she added to further push away the first comment. "Even my laugh."

"Ya got it pretty good, then." She continued eating after that. Jean bit her lip. _Good one, Red. You've now succeeded in alienating the girl who trusts no one except her brother and some boy who is as much of an emotional wreck as her._ She took a bite of her bagel.

"Are you excited?"

Jean wasn't expecting Rogue to talk again. "Excited?" She repeated for clarification.

"About the baby?"

"Oh, yes. Of course!"

"What do ya want it ta be?" Rogue bit into her slice of cantaloupe. She giggled as the juice ran out of the corner of her mouth.

"I'm hoping for a girl."

Rogue smiled. "What would ya name her?"

"Rachel. Nathan if it's a boy."

"Ah like those names."

"They're nothing compared to 'Rogue'."

"Ah guess."

"You don't like your birth name anymore?"

"What makes you think that Rogue isn't mah real name?"

Jean was quiet for a moment before shrugging slightly. "It's just unusual."

Rogue sighed. She didn't like the discomfort she was experiencing with Jean. "It's not mah real name, but mah real name isn't me. Not anymore, anyway."

"I can understand that," Jean responded simply. She had expected Rogue not to disclose her real name. They ate in silence a tiny bit more.

"How long have you an' Scott been married?"

Jean thought about it for a moment. She felt strange discussing these sort of things with a person she barely knew, let alone an almost eleven-year-old girl (Kitty had told her about the conversation in the gift shop), but then if she was going to get her to open up, she might as well divulge a few things that she wouldn't mind telling.

She laughed again and it was sweet to Rogue's ears. Her nose twitched as she fought back tears; no matter what she had told Remy the day before, she would miss her mother - - the woman she was when Victor wasn't around.

"It was one of those things that start out when you're really young. I came here when I was fifteen. Scott was seventeen."

"That's not that young. That's almost bein' a grownup."

Jean smiled again. "When it was that long ago it seems like it." She sighed happily about reminiscing. "We were the best of friends. Nothing could separate us. I guess after awhile I realized was in love with him." She continued to go on, Rogue only half-listening. Her eyes had drifted over to Remy, who was talking to Logan. _Me an' him_ _are jus' like Jean an' Scott. Am Ah gonna like him – like **that** – somewhere along the line?_

"-And we were married here seven months ago." Jean finished. Her face suddenly lit up. "Rogue! The baby's kicking!"

Rogue blinked out of her thoughts. "What?"

She grabbed Rogue's gloved hand gently and placed it on her rounded stomach. Instantly Rogue felt the tiny pushes from underneath. "Ah never felt this befoh."

"Are you the youngest in your family?"

Rogue nodded, keeping her hand over the still moving baby. "Just me an' Kurt."

"I got to feel my little sister like this when my mother was pregnant with her. It's funny that I'm on the receiving end of it all now." She laughed lightly again and Rogue slid her hand off the woman's stomach and into her lap.

"How old were ya when yoah sister was born?"

"Four or five."

"You can remember that far back?"

"With some things. The happier stuff, I guess."

"That's cool." _Ah remember lotsa stuff; none of it's too happy, though._ She suddenly felt very jealous of Jean, which was strange because of the large age gap. But it seemed like Jean had had it all and now she was forming her own perfect little family.

"Are you okay?"

Rogue looked up at her sincerely. "Ah'm fine, just thinkin'." Jean could feel her closing up into her self-built shell, but she wasn't about to ask Rogue what she was thinking about.

Just then, Kurt stepped up to them, followed closely by Kitty and Bobby. "Hey, Sis," he greeted Rogue. He figured the term 'sis' was better than slipping her real name. "We were going to all sit on the veranda out back to eat. Do you want to come along?"

She nodded, trying not to act too eager. She stood up and picked up her plate. "It was nice talkin' ta ya, Jean," she said, mustering up a sweet smile. Talking to Jean had made her think about everything. She couldn't decide whether that had been a good thing or not.

In return, Jean smiled in a way that made her eyes twinkle. "You, too, sweetie."

Rogue's expression turned genuine. "You're definitely gonna make yoah kid happy," she said before following her brother and the others.

Jean's smile wavered as tears came to her eyes. At that moment she promised herself that she would try to be the best motherly figure she could for the young girl.

Scott came up and sat down next to her. "Sweetheart… are you okay? You're crying."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Just hormones, honey."

Remy fought to keep the scowl he was mentally projecting off his face. "So what if I don' have all de experiences of a lifetime yet? Dieu, I'm t'irteen!"

"Don't act like ya know the world inside out. You're gonna grow up arrogant if ya do that."

"I don' need y' tellin' me how t' grow up. I'm doin' fine on m'own!" As Remy's anger and annoyance built up, that all too familiar pain was back…

Logan smiled smugly. "And this ends lesson one." He reached across the table and grabbed a handful of grapes. Wordlessly and quickly, he took Remy's plate from him and dropped the grapes into his hands. Remy concentrated all his anger on the grapes and felt the pain go away. He tossed the grapes aimlessly under the table, hoping they wouldn't cause too much of a mess. Though unfortunately for a certain Miss Frost… A shriek echoed through out the mansion as the gooey grapes exploded by her slippers.

"I suggest ya get out of here, Gumbo. We'll finish our little chat later."

Remy looked at him quizzically but did as he said. He grabbed his plate and almost collided with Rogue.

"We're headin' out back. Do ya wanna come?"

Remy glanced back at the fuming Emma. "I t'ink I should. C'mon." He quickly followed her and the others out.

Ororo was already out there with Jubilee and Piotr, chatting amicably. She saw Remy and smiled. She waved him and Rogue over to the large, round patio table to which they were all to sit. "How are you two this morning?"

"A li'l freaked, actually…"

She laughed. "I saw you talking to Logan before I came out. Would that be the cause of your indifference?"

"Yeah," Rogue piped up after swallowing a bit of pancake. "What were ya talkin' ta him about? Did he see us last night?"

"He did, but dat's not all." He told the two girls about his conversation with the 'Wolverine.'

"Ooh," Bobby butted in, having listened as well. Much of the table conversations had ceased in order to listen to Remy talk. "He gave you the tough guy crap talk."

"Is dat bad?" Remy gulped.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Kitty replied. "He does that just to let you know not to screw around with him."

"Sounds like you have a new friend," Kurt chuckled.

Rogue looked bewildered. "Wait!"

Remy met her eyes. "What is it?"

She laughed nervously. _What if Remy starts making all these friends an' fohgets about me? Ah'm sure Kurt was messin' around, but what if Ah lose Remy ta these people?_ "Ah wanted ta ask if all the adults here are weird," she said quickly. "Ah talked with Jean an' Ah dunno. She was kinda creepy."

Kurt smiled. "Jean's harmless. If there's anyone in this place you can trust, it's her."

"But she's a spook. Y' can' trust spooks."

"That may be the case for the others," Ororo started. "But Jean is an honest person."

"She sounded like she really wanted me ta let her in."

"She is a good person," Piotr said, speaking up for the first time. "I know this for certain."

"Ah guess trustin' her would be a better choice than Emma… you wouldn't believe the garbage Ah got from her."

"You touched Emma?" Kurt asked, confused.

Rogue nodded. "Ah know where she hides her drugs."

"Drugs!" Ororo and Kitty disbelievingly asked at the same time.

Rogue giggled. "She only uses 'em once in awhile." Her face fell a tiny bit. "When she disappoints her dad she takes a bunch of anti-depressants an' stuff."

"Whoa…" Bobby breathed. "You're serious?"

"She's ashamed. She actually doesn't have that high self-esteem that she puts up for everyone."

"Heh, I never would have imagined that about her," Ororo thought aloud. "Sometimes I just forget that she's a real person like the rest of us."

"Yeah, like the whole exterior image just pushes people away," Jubilee noted softly.

"Makes me wish I were an empath," Ororo continued. "If I could feel everyone's emotions I would be reminded that we are all human with feelings and desires."

"What's dat called?" Remy asked.

"What?"

"Dat feelin' t'ing."

"Oh, empathy?"

"Oui. Do y' know how it works?"

"Yeah, Jean's one," Jubilee said. "We talked about it once. It's sorta like reaching out and physically touching someone's emotion, but all you're really doing is taking the bits and piece of that person's physiology and making a correct assumption of what they're feeling. It's not something everyone can do, though, since it's technically more on a psionic level than anything else."

"Jubes… I don't think I've ever heard you speak so intelligently," Bobby said, standing up. "Excuse me while I begin construction on my dream snow fort in hell."

"Oh, shuttup!" She laughed, sending a bright firework across the table from her fingertip.

"Oww!" He mock-cried as he took his seat again.

"Anyway," Jubilee said, getting back on track. "Why do you ask?"

Remy shrugged. "Jus' curious." He felt eyes on Rogue, who was staring at him as if he had a hidden secret. He smiled and quickly whispered that he'd tell her later. She nodded, convinced for the time being.

Everyone broke out into conversations a few moments later. More students joined them to eat outside in the slightly cool air. Ororo pointed them out to Rogue and Remy as they took seats. "That there is Amara and Paige. Paige's brother goes here, too. They usually go home on weekends to be with their family. Ooh, and there is Jamie. He looks really young but he's almost 18…" She went on for a bit, telling them who to look out for, what powers they had and such.

Rogue noted to herself how nice Ororo was. She also saw how she was on the end and Remy was in the middle of two girls. She didn't distrust Ororo, but she still had the plaguing fear that someone would take Remy away from her. That thought was enough to scare her to the point of tears, but she bit back on them. He wasn't gone from her yet, so there was no reason to cry.

After breakfast, the students left to go to their classes that were either in the school or off the estate in a public school. Kurt opted for the institute's schooling, of course. Remy and Rogue both understood why after the previous night's conversation with him. Ororo also attended school at the institute, as did Piotr and many more. A few of the older teens, like Bobby and Kitty, chose public schooling.

With nothing to do since neither were enrolled in classes, Rogue and Remy explored the outdoors. Kurt told them about a path that went completely around the mansion. It was fairly easy to find, especially since it started right outside the front two doors.

The weather was a bit cool, but Ororo had found a sweater for Rogue (since the most of the clothes they'd bought were left in New Orleans) and Remy located his trench coat and sunglasses from his room. He also took the time to move his other things into Rogue's room as well. _Now everyt'in's good,_ Remy thought with a smile. The sweater was a little big on Rogue, but she managed.

The two walked around the side of the mansion, their eyes settling upon the expansive garden and woods that extended off it. "What do ya think is in the woods, Remy?" Rogue asked, fear eating away at the pit of her stomach.

"Not'in' f'r y' t' worry 'bout, dat's f'r sure. I saw some of de security features of dis place. Here, wave." He pointed to one of the trees that had a camera mounted on it, camouflaged to the normal eye, but spotted easily by Remy.

"Ah don't see it – oh!" She smiled and actually did wave. "Ah guess there's nothin' ta be afraid of…"

"But y' jus' can' help it, eh?" She shook her head somberly. "I'll break y' of dat habit. C'mon." He grabbed her hand and jogged along the path past the gardens. Rogue kept pace for a while, but began to slow down. The found themselves in what could be called the backyard, though it stretched out for a half mile before merging into a bay.

Rogue's mouth dropped in awe. "Wow. Ah don't think Ah've ever seen so much land – an' stood in it."

"Do y' wan' go down t' de bay?" Rogue nodded, but suddenly froze.

"Did ya hear those voices?"

Remy looked behind him and saw nothing, but his extra awareness did pick up oncoming people. Rogue gave him her hand and they found a bush to hide behind so they could see what was going on. Scott and Betsy came out, bringing a group of students with them. Kurt was among them, along with a few other students that Ororo had pointed out.

"Since the Danger Room has unexpectedly needed some upgrades, your training will take place out here," Scott announced.

"Now," Betsy said. "You're going to have to be very careful as I project these thoughts into your heads. Your teammates are still around you and while the images will react to your attacks, they are not tangible." A few students glanced at each other while others nodded in complete understanding.

"All right, let's begin!" Scott said aloud. At once, all the students spread out from each other. What Rogue and Remy finally noticed were the uniforms they wore. All were generic black spandex with a golden 'X' across the chest.

"Do ya think this is mutant gym class or something?" Rogue whispered, not taking her eyes away from the students.

"Pro'bly. Maybe dat's what dat big metal room is for."

She looked at him. "The **_Danger_** Room? That doesn't sound like any ol' gymnasium ta me."

Remy just shrugged and turned his attention back to the class. Rogue did the same.

Suddenly, they all started looking to the ground, but Rogue and Remy saw nothing. They jumped back and started attacking the thin air in front of them with their individual powers and fighting skills. Rogue's eyes darted from the students to Scott to Betsy. Her hands fluttered by her temples, the psychic butterfly sprawled out and touching the heads of the students. Scott did not seem to see the images like the others were, as he was watching the students and making sure they didn't hurt each other.

"What do ya think they're fightin'?"

"Rock people, mebbe."

"Hmm… maybe. Ah wish Ah could see."

He laughed. "Neh, it's more amusin' like dis."

One of the students that Ororo didn't point out was shooting some sort of energy from his hands. It went through whatever he was fighting with ease, but it kept on going, almost hitting a green haired girl. Scott thought quickly and lifted up his sunglasses. A laser-type blast came out from his eyes and intercepted the boy's power just before it hit the girl. She did not notice it at all as she moved some metal object that had been thrown about into whatever she was attacking.

"Alex, you need to cut your power short after the target has been eliminated," Scott hollered as he lowered his glasses back into place.

"Lighten up, bro. I didn't hit Lorna so what's the big deal?"

"You still could have hurt her!"

"Whatever." Alex ignored him and went back to shooting things skyward. Scott glared at him for a scarce moment before turning his attention to the rest of the students.

"Some of dese people seem like dey're too old t' be students," Remy whispered, pointing to the guy whom Ororo had identified during breakfast as Sam skyrocketing into the clouds as an example. He looked to be at least twenty-two.

"Maybe he's just here to get help with his powers like us?"

"Mebbe."

"Ya kids enjoyin' the show?"

Rogue and Remy simultaneously whipped around to see Logan hovering over them. "It's yer fault they're out here, Gumbo. They're installin' better security for the entire sub wing." An unlit cigar hung from his lips again, much like the day before. It bobbled up and down with the movement of his mouth, begging to be lit and smoked.

"Dat'll teach 'em, den," Remy replied, smirking. He expected Logan to give some sort of disapproving growl, but instead he matched Remy's smirk with a feral smile of his own. Rogue gasped at the expression.

"What's wrong, p'tite?" Remy asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"He smiled like Victor."

The smirk was instantly replaced by a scowl. He knelt down in front of Rogue, making her a head taller than him, but that didn't mean he made her comfortable. "He hurt ya, didn't he, kid." It wasn't a question. He could smell Victor on the young girl in ways he never thought he would. 'Hurt' was an understatement.

Rogue could only nod. This man knew her ultimate secret without a single whisper or psychic probe. "How - ?"

He hushed her in a rather gentle way by putting a finger up close to her lips. He knew better than to touch her. "Listen ta me, kid. While yer livin' under the same roof with me, I can assure ya that Creed – or anyone – ain't ever gonna touch you like that again."

"Thank you." She didn't look at him, ashamed to have tears stinging her eyes. Remy rubbed her shoulder softly.

Logan watched Remy interact with her. "Me an' the Cajun, then."

Remy looked up. "Quoi?"

"You an' me. We're now her protectors, got that?"

"Homme, I've held dat position f'r four days now. Y' jus' joinin' de club."

Logan chuckled. "Fair enough. Now get out of here. One, I've had enough mushy conversations in the last three hours for a year, an two, if Scott sees ya he's gonna be pissed." Rogue timidly gave him a quick hug and rushed away, Remy close on her heels.

Logan got his pack of matches from his pocket, lighting the cigar as he watched the two run away. Shaking his head, he sighed. "I'm gettin' wayyy too soft 'round all these kids," he muttered as he headed into the woods.

TBC…


	15. You can take the kid off the streets... ...

Street Livin' 

Chapter 15

The sun was reaching its highest peak when Rogue and Remy made it back inside. Their stomachs were growling for lunch as they made their way to the kitchen. When they walked in, they were not alone. Jean was in there with the professor, her munching from a large plate of fruit from that morning, while Xavier sipped on cooling tea. Their conversation stopped abruptly as the two kids walked in. They stared at each other for a moment before the professor waved them in.

"Good afternoon, you two," he greeted, rolling his chair aside so they could get seats at the table. They each said a simple hello and slid in a chair. "How did your explorations fare?"

Rogue looked at Remy for a split second and then Xavier. "Good," she said.

Remy's head felt like it were to burst at any second. He worried over whether Xavier knew of him making it to the sub-level or if Hank and Scott made up something to save his ass.

"Now, Remy, I know about your little discovery, so please stop fretting over it," the professor said, rubbing his temple.

Remy had taken his sunglasses off when they entered the house, so he just stared at Xavier with harsh red eyes. "I didn' ask y' t' go int' m'head."

Despite Remy's rudeness, Xavier stayed calm. He'd 'fathered' many children, more of them similar to Remy than he'd be willing to admit. "You were projecting your thoughts so strongly that I couldn't help but hear them."

Remy snorted and thought to himself – quietly – that he needed his own castle like Rogue. Projecting thoughts so these spooks could hear him accidentally was not going to make this the picture perfect home that it was all cracked up to be.

Rogue watched silently, her own thoughts running discreetly through her mind. _What if Ah were ta get Jean's help with mah powers – the others did say Ah could trust her – an' further build up mah shields. Then Ah can teach Remy ta make his own._ She glanced warily in his direction. _Ah know he's not too crazy about the psychos here, so that's what Ah'll do!_ She inwardly smiled happily to herself. "Hey, Jean. Can Ah talk to ya later about mah head? Emma said Ah had some mental shields up or somethin' an' that they were pretty strong. Is there anyway ta get them even better?"

Jean smiled warmly. "Sweetie, you can make them concrete if you wanted to." Rogue's eyes lit up with pure delight at that thought.

"Can you teach me?"

"Of course." The thought of not being able to penetrate her mind afterwards never surfaced in Jean's head. She was just eager that Rogue had actually asked for help. Jean motioned over her shoulder to the refrigerator. "If you two are hungry, help yourselves." She opened the door with her telekinesis so the younger two could see what awaited them inside.

"Kurt wasn' kiddin'…" Remy's eyes glazed over as he slid out of his seat and ran to the fridge. "Dis t'ing be bottomless."

"Ah don't know what Ah want…" She finally found some cold pasta that just needed to be heated up with a little water. Jean helped her get everything together. Remy decided on some mashed potatoes and spicy buffalo wings that were supposedly Logan's and Logan's alone by Jean's warning. Remy gave her a suave 'whatever' and she heated them up for him.

After their food was heated up and eaten, Jean suggested that she take Rogue alone to the den. Remy wanted to go along, but Rogue whispered to him that it was for him that she was doing this and it was a surprise. He was a bit skeptical, but she gave him a quick hug and told her to trust him. She smiled sweetly and followed Jean.

Remy turned to see Xavier smiling gently at him. "You have a strong friendship with her, correct?" Remy nodded. "She's a lucky girl then. A girl like that needs stability."

Remy couldn't help but think that Xavier knew about her past. Then it clicked; of course he did - what else could Xavier and Jean have been talking about when they walked in? That explained why their conversation had halted so sharply. He decided not to think like that. They couldn't be horrible people that gossip about little kids while drinking tea and such, just because they were spooks. "I'm luckier f'r findin' her," he said quietly. He was about to get up, but Xavier stopped him.

"I have a question to ask you, Remy."

"Go f'r it, homme."

"I was told by Kitty that Rogue's birthday is in a few short days." Remy could only nod. "Would you be interested in planning a bit of a party for her? It could double as a full welcome party for the two of you, if you'd like."

Remy thought about it for a minute. _It would be nice f'r us t' get t' know ev'ryone… but how would Rogue react t' a party in her name? I'm not sure if she would appreciate ev'ryone lookin' at her. But maybe t'ings will shape out in de next few days. _"Could I have a li'l more time t' t'ink 'bout it?"

"Of course. It will by no means be a surprise party if you don't think she'll be able to handle it."

"Dat might be bett'r f'r her if it wasn't it."

"So you will help out?"

He shrugged. "Where I c'n. I mean, I don' know dat much more 'bout dis place dan her." Xavier cleared his throat. "Except f'r downstairs, right."

Xavier smiled. "Great. Oh, Scott volunteered to take you shopping for some clothes and extra things you may need."

"Rogue's gon' stay here?"

"Jean I think is going along with Kitty, Jubilee, and Ororo for some shopping. She'll most likely be accompanying them."

"Oh," Remy's face fell sober. Spending the day with Scott was not what he called fun. "What time does Kurt get out of class?"

"Not for another hour and a half. Why?"

"C'n he come wit' us t' de store? I'd feel bett'r if I had someone closer t' my age wit' me – not dat I have anyt'in' 'gainst Scott." _Like hell I don'._

"Hmm… Scott is a teacher so he'll be finished the same time Kurt, so I don't see anything wrong with that."

Remy nodded. "Hey, if it's cool, c'n I go watch TV or somet'in' now?"

"Will you keep out of trouble?" Xavier asked with a glint in his eye.

"Definitely."

"I'll trust you on this one, Remy," he smiled. "Go ahead. You know where the T.V. room is, right?"

"Umm…" _If he knows 'bout me by de Danger Room, den he might know 'bout me an' Rogue goin' downstairs after ten… not dat it matters. He doesn' seem mad 'bout anyt'in'._ To be on the safe side, he answered, "Me an' Rogue walked by it dis mornin' sometime. I t'ink I c'n find it again."

"Of course. I'll talk to you later, Remy."

Remy gave a little wave and hopped down from his seat, quickly exiting the kitchen. Man, that guy gave him the creeps.

Remy sat in the T.V. for over an hour, finding nothing that could hold his interest too long. He hadn't watched T.V. in forever, so it wasn't like he had a favorite show or anything. After flipping between Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon for a bit, he decided to check on what movies the mansion had. He jumped up from the couch and walked over to the cabinet, which was filled ceiling to floor with movies, some VHS, other DVD. He picked out a Disney movie (VHS), not really having a preference on what to watch. He took the cassette out of the box and walked over to the VCR. Remy suddenly felt like a caveman. He looked from the tape to the machine and his mind went blank on how he could possibly operate it. After a minute of examining both, he remembered that the two reels were supposed to be face down and the label out. _So far, so good._

He tried pushing it in, but it wouldn't budge. Figuring that the machine was just stubborn, he pushed harder. Nothing. He pushed the little door up and saw that someone had left a tape in there. Sighing, he looked to the buttons to operate it. None of them had words next to them, just symbols; it was all supposed to be implied. _Terrific._ _As if I didn' feel ignorant before…_ He growled to himself. It wasn't as if he could go into the electronic stores when he lived on his own. That would've been too suspicious for a kid like him. He had exposure to TV's and the like in the orphanage, but such useless knowledge was forgotten when he lived on the streets. The most experience he'd gotten was sitting in laundromats and bus terminals to pass time. He would watch the news if he could, and would steal newspaper a couple times a week to keep his reading skills up.

Back to the VCR, he'd begun hitting random buttons. Of course, since it was Xavier's place and his VCR, it had to elite and expensive, meaning there were ten or so extra buttons on it. Each button either did nothing or something Remy didn't want it to do. The menu came up on the TV, he changed the channel several times, he rewound the tape in there, played the tape, fast-forwarded while still playing, stopped it, hit the power button to turn it off, then turned it back on, and then finally hit the button right below that. Success! The wretched tape came out.

He yanked it out of the machine and glared at it. His eyes read over the label. _Sense and Sensibility_. It sounded like some cheesy flick that Emma had probably watched. Her or Jean, anyway. He tossed it behind him, feeling his hands slightly tingle. He was not going to let this thing get to him. That, and he would probably get hell from Emma if he blew the tape up. Remembering that he hadn't brought his cards with him, he drew his fist into a ball and slowly centered the pain somewhere else, in the back of his mind. It faded away with a little groan from him. Remy's eyes went wide as he realized he had technically controlled it on his own.

He glanced down to his hands and just stared. They weren't glowing at all. Remy smirked to himself. _Yeah…_ _I've got dis covered on m'own. Wait'll I tell Rogue._ Chuckling to himself, he picked the tape he wanted to watch off the table and popped it in the VCR.

Still grinning, he plopped down on the couch, happy to see that the tape started automatically. The TV screen was fuzzy though, drowning down his sudden good mood. "Jus' great," he groaned.

"What's great?" A voice asked. Remy looked to the entrance of the room. Ororo stood there, a bowl of salad in her delicate hands.

"I'm havin' a bit of trouble wit' de stupid VCR."

She smiled as she sat down next to him. She lifted the remote off the table. "You have to put it on the 'TV/Video' option for it to not be fuzzy." She clicked the button for him.

"Merci. Lunchtime f'r de students?"

"No, classes are over for the day. A couple of them may filter in here to play some games or something like that."

"Oh."

"So what's the afternoon movie?"

Remy furrowed his eyebrows in thought, realizing he never actually looked at the box. He had discarded it on the floor. Ororo picked it up with a slight wave of her hand and a breeze. Remy snatched it from the air. He looked at it quizzically. "De _Lion King_?" He had picked this one?

"I'll remember this, Remy," Ororo giggled.

"It was random!" The opening credits had begun to play and Ororo's eyes drifted to the screen.

"This makes me nostalgic for home," she sighed wistfully.

Remy eyed her cautiously, remembering was Jubilee had said about empathy at breakfast. He saw Ororo's eyes twinkle, felt her shaky sigh, the burning of oncoming tears. "Stormy… does dis have t' do wit' dat t'ing y' wouldn' tell me 'bout yesterday?" He edged closer, slowly.

She looked at him. "Always blunt, hmm?" It came out harsher than she intended. He shrugged under her heavy gaze. "You were going to find out eventually from someone else, most likely. So you might as well hear it from me." She sighed again, telling herself not to lose control. Remy couldn't help but notice that the sun outside had ducked behind a few clouds.

"When I was thirteen, my powers manifested. It was night actually. I was having a great time with a few of my friends and realized I was running terribly late when I'd gotten home. I was sent to my room because I had been out too late and you must know how it is, you're hitting the teens and you think you rule the world?" Remy nodded. "Well, I was raging mad when my mother sent me to bed. I couldn't help but feel horrible anger towards my parents for not letting me live my life… it seems so silly now.

"The wind had started picking up outside and considering it didn't rain that often in my village, I was curious. I looked through the window and you know how you can see your reflection if you look just right?" She waited for Remy to nod again. "I didn't have to look hard to see that my eyes had changed to solid white, as did my hair. It was flying all around me. I, of course, freaked out, which probably didn't help matters at all. Rain started coming down in small, stinging drops and the wind picked up incredibly. Our house wasn't built for that strong of winds. My mother and father came into my room to get me out of the house… and then they saw me… and the look of horror on their faces, it just made me angrier. I expected them to help me, because I was so frightened… not stare at me like some circus act." Her voice began to taper off, hoping Remy would get an idea of what would happen next. He just stared at her, taking everything in.

"Go on, chere."

Her lip trembled much like the day before, but she took a deep, shaky breath and continued. "The house came down in a matter of seconds. It came down before I could realize it. I went down underneath of it, as did my parents. A few hours must have passed by the time I woke up. I remembered what I had done and I began looking through the refuge for my parents. But I never found them."

"Dey abandoned y'?"

She looked at him with icy eyes. "You just had to say it, huh? You just had to ask your little questions and act all innocent while I tell you everything!" Remy saw the rain beginning to fall down in sheets out of the corner of his eye. She stood up, her eyes quickly milking over to solid white.

He grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Ororo, I told y' I got abandoned too, right?"

She blinked and looked down at him. "You did."

"Den I know how y' feel. But at least y' had dose first years wit' 'em, eh? I had 'bout a week with m'maman an' dat was it."

She sunk into the couch again. "But I never got to say sorry for being out late… or sorry for destroying the house. And I'm so angry that they never gave me the chance to make it up to them." She held her fists in tight balls, trying to calm the winds outside.

"Stormy, y' got y' second chance here."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry," he smirked.

"One of these days I'm going to hate that smirk."

"But right now y' can' help but smile wit' me."

Her lips twitched as she fought back her own grin. "You're not playing fair."

He shrugged. "Do y' feel bett'r now?"

She nodded weakly. "Let's watch the movie."

"Alright." They settled back into the couch, both pairs of eyes glued to the TV. Ororo quietly munched on her salad that had been forgotten until that moment.

Right outside of the room, Rogue stood listening to them. She had gotten out of her session with Jean minutes before and was ready to teach Remy how to make his own mental shields, but then she heard Ororo with him. Rogue didn't care what she was saying to him, just that she was with him. _Ah will not lose him_. She thought coldly. She liked Ororo, she really did, but not when she was with Remy. Rogue thought about how harshly she was thinking. _He should make new friends, raht? Who am Ah ta tell him who he can't talk ta. Besides, he's older than me, Ah can't order him around_. She tried to tell herself that there wasn't a single thing to worry about and she was just overacting, but she still had the sinking pit of fear in her stomach that he would forget about her and leave her all alone, just like she felt in the alley before she met him. Those were the longest four days of her life.

"Rogue?" Kurt walked up behind her. "What are you doing out here?"

She turned and looked at her brother. "Ah just got here an' was thinkin' 'bout some stuff. Ororo an' Remy seemed ta be talkin' 'bout somethin' deep an' Ah didn't wanna interrupt them. That would've been rude, raht?"

He smiled. "It would've. You're still the sweet little girl I remember."

She grinned proudly. "Ah'll always be that, Elf. C'mon." She took his free hand in hers, as he was holding a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich on it. She led him into the rec room. "Hey, y'all," she chirped. "Ooh! _The Lion King_!" She found a tiny space between Remy and Ororo to sit down. Kurt chose to sit on the armchair next to the couch. "This movie is so fun."

"How did de t'ing wit' Jean go?" Remy asked as he slid over to give Rogue a bit more room.

"Great. Ah can't wait to tell ya what we talked about."

He grinned at her. "Dat's m'girl."

"'Ro, you okay? I thought I saw the weather go a little haywire outside," Kurt asked, concerned.

She smiled faintly in his direction. "I'm fine. I just had a momentary lapse, that's all." He crooked his eyebrow quizzically. "Really, nothing to worry about."

"Alright then. At least all the classes were inside by then. Imagine the surprise they would've had," he laughed. Ororo giggled briefly with him. By that time, more students had begun to come into the room, some choosing to watch the movie with them, others going to the other side of the room to play on the computers or arcade games.

Rogue sat as close to Remy as humanely possible without literally being on top of him. She threw glances towards Ororo, but she was intently watching the movie and didn't notice. _Or is pretendin' not ta notice…_

Remy did notice though. He caught the last one Rogue had given the young wind rider and paid attention to Rogue completely. The way she was leaning on him, how she had just plopped right in between the two of them, even though there was plenty of space on either side of them. The girl was envious of the friendship he'd made with Ororo. He fought back a smile. He expected himself to be slightly annoyed with Rogue tagging onto him as she was, but he found it flattering. He decided that she needed another reminder of how much she really meant to him.

"C'mere, p'tite." He slid her onto his lap, where she curled up comfortably. "Dis is what y' wanted, hein?"

She smirked. "It is."

He brought his lips as close to her ear as he dared. "I know how y' feel 'bout Ororo."

"Ya do?"

He nodded, bringing a few strands of his hair to tickle her cheek. She giggled. "No matter what, p'tite. I'll never, ever leave y'. But c'n y' allow me t' make a couple friends?"

She turned to face him, a small frown donning her lips. "Ah know," she whispered. "Ah was just afraid you'd fohget all 'bout me if ya made too many friends."

"I nev'r will. Y'r de best t'ing in my life, Rogue. De best friend I've always wanted."

Her smile grew wide. Not thinking of any words to say, she took his arm in the two of hers and curled it around her torso. She turned and started watching the movie again. Remy held the arm there all the way through, even when she did little dances to the songs.

TBC…


	16. Construction

Street Livin' 

Chapter 16

Rogue stretched languidly once the credits started rolling. Students had come and gone over the last ninety or so minutes. Rogue was surprised at the amount of students that had actually sat down and watched the movie with them. She actually felt kind of kiddy sitting there and singing along with the movie while all the older kids could see her, but they didn't mind in the least. Piotr at one point looked up at her and smiled. He told her she reminded him of his sister, Illyana. It made her feel good.

She sat up and poked at Remy's stomach. "C'mon, sugah," she whispered, trying to rustle him out of his trance. "Ah wanna show ya somethin'." Her gloved hand found his.

"Sure, p'tite. I gotta tell y' somet'in', too," he grinned.

"Let's go up ta our room, then."

"Rogue, wait," Ororo said from beside her. "Jean is taking a few of us shopping. Would you like to come along?"

"Sure. It should be fun hangin' with the older gals," she smiled. "We're not leavin' anytime soon, raht?"

"The original plan was to leave - " She glanced to the clock sitting on the TV stand. "- about 45 minutes from now."

"Perfect. C'mon, Remy." She pulled him to his feet with a burst of energy and tugged him out of the room. When they were on their way up the stairs, she asked, "What did ya wanna tell me?"

He smirked. "I controlled it t'day."

She knew exactly to what he was referring. "That's great!" She squealed. She almost brought them down the steps with the momentum she used to jump on him and hug him. "How?"

"I dunno… I jus' t'ought long an' hard an' told myself t' put it away. So now it's stored f'r some ot'er time I get pissed off."

She giggled. "Now if only it was that easy when ya first started with it."

He grinned. "It's only gon' get bett'r after dis now, p'tite." They started up the stairs again. "Now, what did y' wan' tell me?"

"Ah'm not tellin' ya that easily. It's mah surprise foh you." She tugged on his hand more to get them upstairs quicker.

Once they got to 'their' room, Rogue pulled him over to the bed. "Okay. What Ah need ya ta do is relax while Ah do this." When Rogue was in session with Jean, the redhead had allowed her to take a tiny bit of her powers in order to have the energy to build onto her shields, despite the slight weakening Jean experienced. Overall, the session and the experiment of using Jean's powers were a success. Rogue tried her best to bring it back. Remy watched curiously as Rogue squeezed her eyelids close and concentrated. _All raht, Jeannie, Jean, Red, Marvel Girl?_ _Ah dunno where she picked up that name, but whatevah. When Ah touched her, it was like Ah could feel her baby inside me foh that split second… Ah didn't have the heart ta tell her that Ah know it's gonna be a boy. Maybe she knows an' she's just denyin' it… Foh some reason, her power associates with fire… think, Rogue. Flame, hot, psycho, ya can do it. Ya only absorbed her like two hours ago. You can do this, girl._

"Chere?"

"Ah'm busy, Remy."

"… De tips of y' hair are on fire."

Rogue opened her eyes and blinked. Sure enough, the room did feel warmer in her mind's eye, and the ends of her curly auburn hair did appear to be flaming with psychic energy. "Perfect," she smiled. "All raht, are ya ready?"

He looked at her with skeptic in his red eyes. "I guess. Y' still haven' told me what dis is all about."

"Remy," she grinned. "Ah'm gonna build ya some shields!"

He shared her enthusiasm. "Y' are? Dat's great!"

"Okay, sugah, relax. Ah'm still not used ta bein' a psycho."

"But y' not, chere."

She giggled. "Ah know. Relax already!" She squealed. She raised her hands up to Remy's temples, trying to remember exactly what Jean had done. "Ah'm not gonna hurt ya."

"I trust y', Rogue." He closed his eyes and opened his mind to her.

Rogue breathed in and took a baby step in. _Remy?_

"_I'm here, p'tite."_ He waved her over to him. She radiated heat with the flames encircling her body, but she didn't feel a thing. "_Where do we start?"_

"_It's up ta you."_ She poked at the exterior of his mind. "_What kinda wall do ya wanna build?"_

"_Stone._ _Like y' see in old fortresses an' stuff."_

"_That's how mine are now. All ya need ta do, since it is yoah mind, is just envision the blocks an' cement an' allow them ta put themselves tagether. That's what Jean told me word foh word an' it worked. Ah'll show ya."_ Her psychic form closed her eyes. Her forehead scrunched up in deep concentration, and after a moment, a whole pile of cinder blocks had formed mysteriously.

"_I c'n do dat, too?"_

"Yeah. All ya do is think an' it'll be there. Do it quickly though. Ya technically need a psycho ta 'enforce' it or somethin'. Hopefully Ah can do that with these powers."

"_Hey… Jubilee said dat bein' an empath was sorta like bein' a psycho, right?"_

Rogue looked at him quizzically. "_Are ya sayin' ya have that?"_

He shrugged. "_I've been able t' tell t'ings. Like when y' were jealous earlier, or when I know y'r gon' cry, even dough y' show no signs of it y'self."_

"_Maybe, then._ _You can build them yoahself completely! An' Ah'll be able ta test it, too. Ah'm gonna leave yoah head, an' when ya're ready, let me know. Ah'll try ta come back in."_

He nodded. "_Alright, den. See y' on de ot'er side,"_ he grinned. She smiled widely back and dissolved from his sight. _Time t' get t' work._

Rogue watched him in silence for what seemed forever. He didn't open his eyes at all while he was building, but she could see his eyes move underneath his eyelids. She had an idea as well. _If Ah shut mah walls tight, he won't be able ta sense mah emotions…_ It put a gleam in her eye. She looked inside her mind as well, smiling at the sight of the two Lego guards of Kurt and Remy, even though her mind was far from Legoland now.

Remy opened his eyes finally and sighed. "I t'ink I did it."

"Ah'll try gettin' in." She tried bringing up Jean's power again, but found herself empty. She searched and searched inside herself, but nothing appeared. No flicker of fire, no tiny simmer of Jean was left. "Ah cain't find the power."

"Y' jus' had it… where did it go?"

"How should Ah know?" She was getting aggravated with herself. She had it before, where the hell did it go?

Something sparked in Remy's mind. "See if y' c'n bring me up."

"What'll that do? Ah didn't get empathy from ya before, so Ah cain't test it on yoah shields."

"Jus' do it."

She wrinkled her nose, but did as she was told. She closed her eyes and searched. "Remy? Ah don't see ya. There's absolutely nothin' left." She started to panic. She was distraught before when he disappeared before in her mind, but then unconsciously she had found him. Now, she had nothing. "You're not in there!" She cried.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Rogue, it's okay. I kinda figured dis out. I t'ink y' have de person in y' head initially an' den - "

"Ah've got one more use of everythin' in me an' that's it." She sighed. "Mah powers suck."

"Y' say dat as if I didn't have crappy ones. Besides, wit' y'rs, y' can have _any_ power! All I do is blow merde up."

"Ah guess that's a better way of lookin' at it… but ya do have the empathy."

He smirked. "Y' definitely made out on dis mutant t'ing."

"Ah did, didn't Ah?"

"You bet."

She grinned. "Ah did. Ohh! Ya know what Ah should do from now on?"

"Quoi?"

"Ah should absorb as many people as Ah can, that way Ah have all these powers foh mah use!"

"Y' gon' be able t' handle all dat? Won' y' head get crowded?"

She thought about it. "Maybe, but Ah'll never know if Ah don't try, raht?"

"Good point."

"Wait! Ah still have Emma in mah head. Ah can use her ta test yoah shields."

"Y' sure y' wan' bring her up?"

"Ah can handle anythin' that girl can dish out, remember?" She smiled smugly. "An' besides, if whatcha say is true, then Ah won't have her in mah mind anymore."

Remy could only shrug. "Go 'head, den." He learned better than to try to keep her from doing something her mind was set on.

Rogue snickered and closed her eyes and tried bringing up Emma. She instantly thought of the crystalline feeling her telepathy had. Rogue scoured for her own green crystalline aura. With a tiny push, she found the power, also releasing the memories. She suddenly felt self-conscious – mirroring the lost girl that Emma was when she thought no one was looking. Rogue sensed something was wrong, like it wasn't going right because she messed up again.

"I t'ink y' got it," Remy whispered encouragingly, hoping he wasn't breaking her concentration. He did see the beginnings of a diamond shell growing on her, starting from the exact middle of her forehead.

She felt it too, like her skin was forming over with cement. She remembered other times with Cody she would come home, caked with mud. The diamond shelling felt like that, but Rogue could sense the clearness of it… hell, she felt expensive, too. She took hold of the crystal shell and pushed it aside in her mind – Emma told her the telepathy wouldn't work with it up. She instantly sensed the auras of everyone in the house, sending her mind reeling. She took a few deeps breaths and centered her own aura.

She opened her eyes hazily to Remy. Everything was outlined in green. Rogue knew she was truly connected with everything now. "Ah'm gonna try now."

"Take y' time, p'tite. I don't want y' t' hurt y'self."

"Ah won't," she smiled warmly, giddy at the thought that he was so concerned about her. She closed her eyes and sent out her mind, attempting to get into Remy's. She reached out just enough so she practically feathered her probe against his walls. It vibrated against her touch, but wouldn't allow her access. "Think of a number between five an' ten." Jean had tried this exercise with her.

"Five an' ten?"

"Anyone can do between one an' ten. Just do it foh me, please?"

He nodded, smiling at her logic. In his head, he chanted six over and over again, unconsciously shuddering at the memory of the older orphanage kids and how they used to write '666' on him with pens and paint it on the outside of his bedroom door. _Stupid devil taunts_, he growled to himself.

"Are ya thinkin' of it?" She broke him out of his unintentional trip to his shadowy Memory Lane.

"Oui, g'head."

Rogue pushed harder against the fortress walls that surrounded his mind, but they wouldn't budge. She opened her eyes again, feeling the power fade away thankfully. "They're great. What number were ya thinkin' of?"

"What does it matter? Y' didn't get t'rough! Now dose spooks won't be able t' read my thoughts."

"Can ya try mah mind? With yoah empathy?"

"How would dat work?"

"Umm… maybe ya won't be able ta read mah emotions? Just try it, please?" She begged with an irresistible pout.

He grinned. "Sure. Lock 'em down… or whatever y' do with shields."

She closed her eyes and made sure her guards weren't going anywhere. "Alright."

The second she did that, Remy stopped being aware of her ongoing happiness. It was like a glass wall slammed down in between them and nothing could penetrate. He could see her, but that was it. He suddenly felt very empty, too. Her happiness had fueled him, and now he had nothing. He realized then that he was always sensing her, whether he sent out his empathy or not. Maybe he was catching everyone's emotions as well. But something about Rogue… he always seemed to be a reflection of her emotions. If she was happy, you could bet that he was happy. If she had a sudden shadow of fear creep over her, he would feel it too, even though he would always find some way to make her feel better. He was connected with Rogue.

"Take 'em up," he said quietly.

She did so and he was cascaded with her overwhelming happiness again. "Did it work?"

He nodded slowly. "It worked too well."

She didn't ignore his sudden sadness. "What's wrong?"

He looked up and smiled, feeling her emotions dance across his skin, warming him to the core. "Not a t'ing. Promise me one t'ing, dough."

"Of course. Anythin'."

"Don' do dat again. Like purposely, y' know?"

She crooked her eyebrows, not fully understanding how much he fed off her emotions. "Okay, sure."

He reached in for a hug. "Merci, chere. Merci."

She held him for a minute and then pulled back. "Remy, really, what's wrong?"

"I realized when y' took y' emotions away dat I need dem… I felt really… cold wit'out feelin' y'."

She smiled shakily. "Then Ah guess Ah cain't leave you either then, huh?"

"I guess not," he smirked. "I'm stuck wit' y' as much as y' stuck wit' me."

There was a knock on the door. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, sugah," she laughed as she got off the bed to open the door. Scott was on the other side. He looked to Remy and then to Rogue.

"Are you two ready to go?"

Rogue glanced back at Remy, who nodded. "Yeah, Scott. We're ready." She turned back to Remy. "Ah'm gonna go find Jean. Ah'll see ya when we get back."

"'Course, p'tite."

She grinned and scampered off after Scott told her Jean was waiting downstairs. Scott looked to Remy. "Does she seem happier here?"

The young Cajun smirked. "Like y' wouldn't believe." He hopped off the bed and walked out the door, following Scott. "Kurt is comin' wit' us, right?"

"He is. The professor mentioned that you wanted him to come along?"

"Oui. Jus' t' have a kid around, y' know?"

Scott smiled. "Of course. Let's get going." They were at the top of the steps when the girls walked out the front door. Ororo caught Remy's eye before leaving and waved. He waved back and then they were all gone.

"Ready for hell, Remy?" Kurt asked in a hushed tone as he turned on his image inducer. "Scott is a major pain with this."

He shrugged with a smile. "Let's jus' get it over wit'."

"My thoughts exactly."

TBC…

Okay, I know I said in… chapter 12 that I hoped this would be done by the end of August… and see how it really is the end of August and this is still no where near finished (especially when I have two more chapters completely structured out without them even being the ending… sigh) so, this is just going to continue for a bit. I'm hoping to keep it under 25 chapters. Key word "hoping". grins So please let me know how you're liking everything, pweeze?

Next – Time skips ahead a week to the party. Rogue receives a gift that she has mixed thoughts about…


	17. Icing On the Cake

Street Livin' 

Chapter 17

A week flew by in a matter of minutes to Remy. Somewhere in the short time, he had told Rogue about the party in honor of her birthday. She was skeptical about it. "What if they don't like me an' they're just bein' nice since it's mah birthday?"

He had smiled warmly then said, "Y' still have a few days t' get settled. People will know who y' are an' won't jus' randomly wish y' a happy birthday."

"Ah hate when people do that… they did that in school an' Ah hated those people." Her eyes clouded over with hatred, stinging Remy in the heart. She noticed the slightly pained look in his eyes and her face turned somber. "Sorry," she whispered. About a day after the shielding process, Remy told Rogue exactly what happened to him when she closed off herself. Upon hearing that, she promised to be happy just for him.

"Don' be actin' happy if y' know y' ain', p'tite," he said, knowing full well she couldn't be happy every single moment of every day.

"Ah don't want ya ta be sad though! Ah would feel even worse knowin' ya feel the same way Ah do!" Then she promptly broke out into tears, completely going against what she just promised moments before. Remy felt her anguish, and took it upon himself to hold her and soothe her back to normal. They both felt better and continued their day.

"Ah don't wanna go down there," Rogue whispered, smoothing down the long lavender skirt Betsy had bought for her as an early present. Surprisingly, it fit her perfectly. Rogue was sure that it would've been too big. It complimented her nicely, making her appear a bit older than her now eleven years. From the shopping trip a week before, Jean thought it would be cute to get Rogue a couple more pairs of gloves, all different colors. Ororo seconded the idea, and now Rogue was wearing white evening gloves that rose just above her elbows. It left just an inch of skin from the tip of the glove to the white short-sleeved blouse that she wore. Rogue looked in the mirror and liked what she saw… _New beginnin's,_ she whispered to herself.

"Y' told me before dat y' were fine wit' it," he smirked, knowing she had just gotten sudden butterflies in her stomach. He was nervous too. The polo shirt that Scott insisted on buying for him felt weird on him. He longed for one of the simple solid colored t-shirts that had been supplied for him, but he knew he had to look nice. Never again, though, would he wear corduroys.

"Ah'm scared though… Ah'm gonna be the center of attention. Ah'm not used ta that sorta thing." She turned away from the mirror and looked at him. "You look funny," she giggled.

He pouted. "Dat's not nice, chere. No need t' brag 'bout how much y' made out in dis one."

She grinned. "Take those silly pants off. How are ya supposed ta sneak around with the noise they make?" She reached into the dresser and pulled out a pair of his jeans. "Change in ta these. It's mah party, an' Ah'll decide whatcha get ta wear."

"Dat's what I wan' hear. Be back in a second." He grabbed the pants and went into the bathroom. The second he shut that door, someone knocked on the bedroom door.

"Come in," Rogue called.

"Hey," Kitty greeted, stepping into the room. "You look so cute!" She gushed. "And your hair is still staying in the curls I styled for you."

Rogue poked at her hair. "Ya put enough hairspray in it," she joked.

"I did not!" Kitty denied with a grin. "Anyway, everyone's waiting for you! When are you coming down?"

Rogue hooked her thumb towards the bathroom door. "Remy's changin' pants."

"I take it the cords didn't go over too well, hm?"

"The noise was killin' me an' he was only walkin' around the room."

"Killin' you?" He exclaimed, stepping out of the bathroom. "I had t' feel dose t'ings! Dat rubbin' is irritatin'."

Kitty laughed. "Are you ready now, at least?" They both expressed they were with a 'yeah' and a 'oui'. "Come on, then. You two are the guy and girl of the hour!" Kitty grabbed Rogue's hand and tugged her out the door. Rogue threw a wary glance back at Remy before he got hold of her hand as well. The three kept the chain of people going until they made it to the main living area, where literally _everyone_ was. The students that stayed at the institute were present, including many others that neither Rogue nor Remy had met before.

Betsy approached them first. "Rogue, you look so adorable tonight," she complimented, smiling warmly. The Asian born Brit was looking quite stylish herself in a deep violet – almost black – crush velvet blouse that belled at the sleeves and scooped down a little too low at the chest. Black pants and stilettos finished off the outfit. Her hair was piled up on her head to look glamorous in that messy way.

Rogue grinned. "You look pretty, too." Her eyes joined Remy's in gawking at Betsy's companion. A man with seemingly normal shiny blonde hair… but blue skin and wings folded into his back.

Betsy gasped. "How rude of me! Rogue, Remy, this is Warren, my fiancé."

He smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you two. I've heard bunches from everyone here about 'the new kids'."

Rogue blinked a couple times. "You're like an angel," she whispered idly.

His smile didn't falter. "I've gotten that a couple times."

"We'll catch up with you two later on. I've got another gift for you, Rogue," Betsy winked as she tugged on Warren's arm that she had looped in her own. "And I didn't forget about you, Remy," she called over her shoulder as they walked away.

"Whoa," Rogue breathed. "He was so pretty."

"Sure, chere," he smirked. "C'mon," he pulled on her hand. "I see Ororo an' de ot'ers over dere."

"Do ya think he could take me flyin' later on?" She mused, glancing back to him over her shoulder.

"Y'll never know if y' don' ask." He felt true amazement from her. Kind of like she never imagined something that looked so odd to the regular person could be so impressive to someone else.

"Remy! Rogue!" Ororo greeted as they walked to the group of students. Ororo was sitting with Piotr, Lorna, Alex, Kurt, and Paige. Everyone else exchanged their greetings, also fitting in a 'happy birthday' to Rogue.

She blushed at the attention. "Thanks," she said quietly while taking a seat next to Remy. He made a point to sit next to Ororo, just to see how Rogue would react. She seemed fine with it, too. She grinned at him, as if she knew he was testing her.

"I know we're supposed to wait until later," Ororo began. "But I really wanted to give you your gift now."

"That would be great, Ororo," Rogue said, smiling from ear to ear. _What could she have gotten me?_ Ororo presented her with a small box. Rogue shook it, trying to guess what it was. She could tell from the size of the box it was some sort of jewelry, which had to be awesome if it came from Ororo.

She opened the box and her mouth fell open. "Oh mah gosh, it's so pretty!" She squealed. She lifted out a delicate silver chain that drooped down to form silver leaves. Inside the leaves held an orb, swirled with emerald green and onyx. "Can someone put it on me?" Remy offered, knowing that even though touching her skin was an issue, he could easily avoid it. After he clasped it on, it fell just below her collarbone. "How does it look?"

Everyone expressed positive comments. Piotr mentioned that it matched her eyes perfectly. "That's what I thought when I picked it out. I'm happy you like it," Ororo said.

"Like it? Ah love it! Thank you." She gave Ororo a big hug. Remy was relieved to see that she didn't lock herself up in a shell. Just the first ten minutes downstairs had been a success. Everyone broke out into conversation after that and the group sat in the circle of couches and chairs for almost another half hour.

Dinner was a buffet, as usual. Charles wished he could have had everyone sit down for dinner, but there were just too many people. He found Rogue sometime during dinner to wish her a happy birthday. In the week she'd spent there, she'd had a few talks with him and he didn't seem as creepy anymore. _O' course, he's still creepy since he's a psycho, but Ah've got nothin' ta worry 'bout,_ she beamed to herself.

"Are you excited about training next week?"

Rogue nodded eagerly. "Very. Are me an' Remy gonna work in that big room he told me about?" Remy was just about to elbow her to shush her, but Xavier smiled warmly.

"That you are. Of course, we won't start with anything to difficult, just enough to test the waters, so to speak."

"We're startin' school next week, aren't we?" Remy asked, downheartedly.

Xavier nodded. "I believe you two need to get into the style of living we have here right away. You can attend courses here, but it will pretty much be one-on-one with your ages."

"There's no way Ah'm goin' ta a regular school," Rogue determined immediately. "Ah never got along with kids when Ah did go."

"An' I don' t'ink dat I'll fit in too much, eit'er," Remy replied, a bit sullenly.

Xavier smiled despite their negativity. "Then it's decided. You two will attend courses here and be back up to where you should academic wise in no time."

Jean came up from behind them and placed a hand on Rogue's shoulder. "Rogue? Someone just delivered a package for you."

Rogue turned, curious. Jean held in her hands a decent sized box, wrapped with bright paper. "It wasn't delivered through the mail?" Jean shook her head. Rogue accepted the present from her, eyeing the package intensely. "Who delivered it?"

"It was a man in I guess his late twenties. Bobby answered the door and didn't catch a name or anything. He only said that it should go to the special girl. I'm assuming that's you," she smiled. Rogue did not look overjoyed. She held the package carefully, away from her body slightly, as if afraid it would explode. It was pretty light considering the size of the package. "There's a nametag, too," Jean mentioned.

Rogue found the nametag and almost growled at what was written. _Bethany Darkholme_. She looked up over Jean's stomach and met her blue eyes. "You read this?"

Jean kept her stare neutral, knowing full well that Rogue never wanted anyone to learn her real name. '_I won't tell a soul,'_ she promised psychically.

With that, Rogue slammed down her shields, and took a few steps away from everyone. Remy looked as if he was going to suffocate with the sudden lock away of herself. Her eyes trembled with unshed tears and she ran away from them, away from everyone. She sped up the stairs, stumbling a bit on the skirt, but nonetheless made it upstairs.

Rogue locked her bedroom door behind her and slumped against it. She didn't know what she was feeling. Was she angry because Jean knew her real name, or was she upset because someone had sent her a package? She looked at it, sitting idly five feet away from her. She'd thrown it when she'd entered her room, not caring if whatever was inside was fragile. She glared at the cursed thing with its happy blue paper and mocking birthday balloons and cakes images. The pink bow on top made her nauseous. She would hate that color from that moment on.

Once Remy had regained control of himself and his breathing, he realized the professor and Jean were staring at him with awe, as if they knew about the connection. _Dey_ _can' know… an' dey won' know._ With a sneer, he slammed down his own shields, with a self-made Rogue fairy to keep watch for nosy spooks.

He walked away and found the group he had been previously hanging with. Kurt had been teasing Kitty about Bobby as she had joined that group herself shortly after embarrassing herself in front of him.

"Kurt?" The blue elf turned to acknowledge Remy and was startled by what he saw.

"Remy? What's wrong?"

Remy's eyes were devoid of vibrancy. With himself all locked tight within his shields, his eyes dimmed considerably. "Somet'in' up wit' Rogue," he answered simply without an ounce of emotion.

Kurt stood up and excused himself from everyone else. He grabbed Remy's arm. "What happened to her?" Concern rose in his golden eyes like a flood.

"She got a package from someone t'day. Jus' a few minutes ago."

"Oh, crap. Ten dollars it was my mom," he muttered. Without warning Remy, they disappeared in a fog of pink smoke and reappeared before Rogue's room. "When I talked to her this week, she said she had something for Rogue." Kurt was finally used to his sister's preferred name after a week of using it. He even corrected Raven when she would refer to Rogue as 'Beth'.

"Y' talked t' her?" Remy asked, astonished.

"I do not have bad blood with her as Rogue does. Though, I do no condone the things that have happened to my sister that Mom's responsible for. I call her once a week if I can. If not, definitely a couple times a month."

Remy was speechless, but he supposed it made sense. Not thinking of anything to answer with, he turned to the door. He poised his hand to knock and Kurt nodded. While Remy tapped on the door, Kurt called, "Rogue?"

"Kurt?" came the small, trembling voice. As Rogue's whimper wafted through the door, Remy's body was racked with her distraught and confusion. Tears came to his eyes as her emotions taunted his psyche.

"It's me. Remy's here, too. Can we come in?"

"Ah guess," she mumbled. Remy noticed his fingers tingling.

"Merde."

"What? What is it?" Kurt asked worriedly.

"M'power," he groaned in reply. He realized that he was way too emotional for his own good. "I left m'cards in de room."

"Them we're going in." Quickly, Kurt placed his alien-looking hand on Remy's shoulder and teleported to the other side of the door. When they materialized, Rogue saw Remy's face contorted with pain.

"Remy? Control it!" She demanded when fresh tears sprung to her eyes as Remy crumpled to the floor, clutching his hands to his body. "Ya did it befoh!"

"Too much dis time," he strained. "M' head's a mess wit' y' feelin's. I can' sort it out."

"This is mah fault then!" She sobbed.

Kurt wasn't standing around doing nothing. He was rummaging through Rogue's dresser, looking for a deck of Remy's playing cards. _He has to have at least twenty-five packs! Why can't I find one of them!_

Rogue finally registered what had to be done. "Second drawer on the nightstand," she whispered, crawling over to Remy. "Ah'm sorry Ah yelled at ya," she murmured when she was close enough. Kurt found a pack and all but launched it at Remy. Rogue happened to snatch it midair before it smacked Remy in the face. She spilled the box onto the ground and scooped up a handful. "Here," she said, handing them over to him. The cards instantly absorbed the power, a few of them exploding with tiny pops much as popcorn cooking in the microwave when it starts really heating up.

"Dere's too many of dem," he said. The power was completely drained from his hands, causing the remaining ten or so cards to just sit burning on his hands.

"Drop them!" Kurt cried. He ran over to them and teleported them to the other side of the room so they would be far away enough to not be damaged by the cards. Once they were over there, the cards burst, causing a burnt mark into the carpet about a foot and a half in diameter.

Rogue peeked over the bed to the floor. "Do ya think they'll be too mad?" She whispered.

Remy shrugged. "Dey would've had t' done it eventually anyway," he joked, feeling more like his normal self besides the tiny shiver of guilt from Rogue. "Don' feel bad," he said, rubbing a hand along her back.

"Ah didn't mean foh ya ta get hurt."

He held his hands up and inspected himself. "I'm not hurt. Are you hurt, Kurt?"

Kurt smiled gently. "Not in the least."

Remy looked at Rogue again. "See? We're not hurt. All good."

She managed a watery smile. "Thanks."

"Don' mention it. Now let's see what's in dis package, eh? I'm sure it's not'in' t' get all upset about," he insisted.

Her eyes met the package. "You open it then, if it's 'not'in'," she mocked.

"Fine, I will." He grabbed the package off the floor. He mirrored what she did earlier with Ororo's gift by shaking it. "Dere's somet'in' in dere bumpin' int' de sides."

"Is it somethin' hard?" She asked.

Remy shook his head. He started taking off the paper from the top, pulling off just enough to get to the lid of the box. "Y' sure y' don' wanna pull it off?"

"Positive," she muttered, crawling closer to Kurt.

Remy shrugged and pulled off the lid. He peered inside. "I dunno how y' gon' feel 'bout dis one, p'tite."

"What is it?" She asked, her voice dark but slightly tinted with curiosity.

He pulled out something very familiar to Rogue. "Remember dis?"

Her angry façade melted away. "Mah angel bear! The first one!" She lunged and snatched it from Remy, cuddling it to her small body. "Ah thought Ah would never see this again!"

"Dere's somet'in' else," Remy said, looking into the box. "It's a letter. Do y' wan' read it?"

Rogue bit her lip. "Ah guess Ah should… should Ah read it out loud?"

"Read it f'r y'self, chere. Decide if we should know." He handed the envelope to her.

"Okay…" Slowly, she opened the envelope and pulled out the piece of royal blue stationary paper. The message was scrawled with a golden pen. It made her look at Kurt. It was like he was put into the paper… but so was her mother.

_Dear Bethany,_ it read. Rogue instantly cringed. _I know that you made it up to the Institute since Kurt told me earlier this week. _Rogue knew that Kurt talked to their mother all the time, so she wasn't angry with him for disclosing her location. _While I'm sad that you find that you can't live with me anymore, I'm happy that you're with your brother. You two truly belong together and it was unfortunate that you couldn't grow up together fully._

_I also know the reason why you left was Victor… He came home hours after you called me and wanted to know where you were. I told him I didn't know. He'll never find you, darling. I won't let him touch you again. I know that if I were to say sorry, it would mean nothing to you because your life hasn't been great thanks to me. I just want you to know that I am going to get better. I even filed for divorce against Victor. You running away has really affected me, believe it or not. He's angry of course, but I've got a restraining order in the mix as well. I'm going to be moving in with your aunt Irene for the time being in California._

_Kurt also told me that you discovered your powers as well. I'm so happy for you! I never expected you to manifest them this early but it's wonderful that you are really one of us now. Your power sounds like a confusing one, but I'm all but positive with Xavier's help, you'll figure everything out. You were always a smart girl… a stubborn girl, but nonetheless a smart one. You'll know what to do in no time._

_I wish I could see you today… On your birthday. But I know the wounds are still too fresh. It may take awhile before you want to see me, but I wish you would consider. I miss you, Beth._ Another cringe. _It may not have seemed like it, but you were the light of my life. You are the light of my life. You and Kurt. The fact that I cannot see my children every day is like a stab in the heart, but it's the punishment I have to face and I deserve it. Now that you're both gone, I just have to deal with every day without you._

_I love you, Beth, and I hope one day you can find it in your heart to say the same of me, despite it all. Send Kurt my love as well. Mom _

Rogue stared at the paper, shaking in her hands. Her eyes watered and her lips trembled. Quietly, she handed the paper to Kurt. While he read it through, Remy crawled over to her and held her while she cried silently. "Ah miss her," she admitted in a voice so small Remy had to guess what she'd said.

"I know, p'tite," he murmured into her hair, rocking her back and forth. "I know."

"She didn't tell me about the divorce," Kurt said. "Isn't that awesome?" He grinned.

Rogue managed a weak smile. "Spectacular," she muttered sarcastically.

"Why aren't you happy about this? By the looks of it she did it for you."

"It took her long enough. Ah mean, Ah had ta run away befoh she realized how bad Victor is? Ah really like that she sent me up mah bear an' the letter… but Ah dunno… Ah don't wanna fohgive her so soon. Like she said, 'the wounds are still too fresh.'"

"It'll come with time, Rogue," he said, standing up. "Do you think you're ready to go back downstairs to the party?"

She shrugged. "Ah think Ah need a minute up here or somethin'. Can ya go down an' apologize ta the others foh me? Ah did kinda run out on mah own party."

Kurt smiled. "Of course. I'll see ya down there." Then he teleported away.

"Y' okay, Rogue?" Remy asked, leaning his chin on the top of her head.

"Ah don't know… do ya mind if Ah have a second ta mahself?"

He smiled warmly. "O' course not. I have t' go t' de bathroom anyway. I'll meet y' downstairs." He gave her a tight hug and stood up to walk out of the room.

"Hey, Remy?"

"Oui, p'tite?"

"Thank you… foh comin' up here with Kurt. Ah wouldn't have been able ta do this mahself."

"Don' mention it." He smirked and walked out of their bedroom, walking towards the bathroom along the hallway. Holding her in there was one of the hardest things he'd done since he'd met her, or since his powers had manifested. It took every bit of him to stay strong with her but her emotions pummeled against him. He wanted to shut down his shields for a second just to take a break, but he wasn't sure what it would do to their connection. She never said anything about feeling a thing off of him… but maybe she would feel her emotions bang against his shields, like a wall came down in front of the sponge that was absorbing them all.

He glanced back to the room over his shoulder, wishing he could read Rogue's thoughts more than her emotions. He couldn't even imagine what all this was doing to her. All he knew was that she was angry, confused, but actually happy, all wrapped into one.

Rogue had tiptoed to the door, waiting to make sure Remy was actually in the bathroom. When she heard the door swing shut, she walked over to the other side of the room behind the cover of her bed and collapsed on the floor, crying. She clutched to the bear as if it were a lifeline. She missed her mother, no matter how much she had ruined her life.

She pulled the bear away from her chest and looked at it, tears still in her eyes, making her vision blurry. Her mother had attempted to clean the angel bear – it looked much cleaner than Rogue remembered. She twirled it all around, examining its cleanliness. Her heart stopped at one spot though. At the base of the left wing, and then again on its right foot… and then the arm, were tiny red dots. Rogue's face wrinkled as she realized what exactly she was looking at. Of course the bear had been on her bed so many times when Victor would come to her drunk. Of course it would be splattered by various things… including her blood. "No," Rogue muttered. "Mah mind is just messin' with me." Suddenly more dots began to show, engulfing the bear in her blood.

"NO!" She screamed as she hurled it at her floor length mirror. It bounced against it, though one of the bead eyes caused a crack. The bear fell to the floor on top of the box, knocking it over. Another piece of paper slid out. Weary, she leaned over and picked up the piece of paper. It was Raven in her enchanted princess form. Rogue, no older than four years old, was sitting next to her, clapping giddily. Kurt must've taken the picture since the corner was blurred with blue, most likely his finger.

She choked on a sob and examined the picture intensely. She didn't know whether to treasure that moment or tear the picture up because that moment would never happen again. She sniffled loudly and decided to tuck it under her pillow.

After she put it away safely, she walked over to the mirror. She ran her gloved hand over the tiny crack she'd created. The she looked down to the cursed bear. It was normal again. Not a single bit of it was red. It had pink though. She growled at it, but picked it up nonetheless. She turned to her bed and placed it next to the newer bear, with its golden wings out shining the pink ones any day of the week. _New an' old_, she told herself. With another glance at the mirror, she made sure her eyes weren't too puffy, fluffed her hair and skirt, and exited the room.

A few moments later, Remy stepped back in, looking over his shoulder cautiously. He'd gone to the bathroom quickly and was standing next to the bedroom door through all of Rogue's toil. He walked over to the bed where the old bear stuck out predominately. He picked it up and examined it. Sure enough, there was still a single drop of red at the base of the left wing. But that was all. His eyes narrowed at the thought of his Rogue – wait… _his_ Rogue? _Where did dat come from?_ He thought. Regardless, he pushed that notion of slight possessiveness out of his mind and put the bear back down.

Quickly he walked by the mirror, pretending not to notice the small crack that wasn't there when he'd left only minutes before. With one more glance to the room, he shut the door and went downstairs.

TBC…


	18. Fading

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 18

_Day 1553_

_I still think it's funny that I count the days I've written a journal instead of saying the date in these entries. It's weird, but then again, that's me in a nutshell. I do know that it's January, which makes me smile to myself. Remy told me that he never knew his real birthday, so he just celebrates it on the first of the year so he can remember it easier. So now he's 18. Wow. I never imagined either of us getting that old with our pasts. It's incredible how far we've come._

_For some reason, I feel like looking back on the last four years this entry. I guess I'm just in a reminiscing mood. I remember how I started keeping a journal. When I went back downstairs to my eleventh birthday party, I found Jean and just hugged her… well, as best as I could around that stomach of hers. I apologized for me running out on my own party, and she apologized for knowing my name, once again promising never to speak it to anyone. _

_Then she gave me my present. It was a regular sized notebook, with black leather covers. Written on the front in gold was "Day by Day." It was my first journal. She said it would be a good idea to get out the things that she knew I would never say to anyone on paper, just so I felt like someone was hearing it, but it was anonymous or something. I was skeptical at first but I went with it._

_I filled that thing in two weeks._

_Any moment that I wasn't with Remy or Kurt, I spent writing down every bruise, cut, and tear I ever shed that I could remember in that time. Writing in that thing became my obsession, and when I ran out of paper, I all but screamed for someone to take me to the store to get a new one. Logan_ _took me and bought me a new one. He's such a softie when he wants to be, but you won't hear me say that to anyone. I don't have a death wish, ya know._

_I'm trying to think of something to write… Ooh! Okay, Nathan, Jean and Scott's little boy, is sooooooo adorable. He's four, too. It's great, if I ever forget how old he is, all I have to remember is how long I've been at the institute. Jean had him right on time, and from what I heard, no one expected any less from her. I can't believe how big he's gotten already. I remember the time when he was just first starting to walk, he rammed himself right into the coffee table edge. Everyone thought he was going to be blind in his right eye, but all is good, except for this scar that goes right down the center of it. I baby-sit him a lot. He's so fun._

_Seeing as how he's gotten older… so has everyone else. Including me of course, but with Nathan and then some new students, I'm not the youngest anymore! Yes! But anyway, Kurt's in college now. He's going to NYU and majoring in I think Communications. He comes home like every other weekend. I miss him having him around. I know… it's his second year there, but still. It's my big brother, of course I'm going to miss him. Sometimes I think he gets to talk to Momma more than he talks to me._

_She's still living in California_ _with Aunt Irene from what Kurt told me. I still haven't talked to her. I don't see the point… well, maybe there's a point, but I don't know. I feel like if I were to talk to her, it would be like giving in from all those years of pain, no matter how many times she says she's sorry. I really don't feel like writing any more on her. It still hurts._

_Ororo isn't going to college though, thank God. I know that in the past I've been jealous of her… I've probably said it five hundred times, but she really is a nice person. If Remy or Kurt wasn't there, she would take me up to her room and we would just talk. I've literally spent days up there if I put all the hours together. She let me know about her past and her parents, which I think it is so strong of her to have moved on from all of that. Some day I know I'll find that strength to say something to Momma. Even though Ororo isn't in college, yesterday she left for a month trip to Africa_ _with the professor. It's for some charity work, but it's still gotta be murder for her. She told me before she left that she's never been so scared of anything in her life. But I give her a lot of credit for stepping onto the Blackbird and leaving. I'm going to miss her._

_I said earlier about how old Remy's gotten. It's scary. He's even graduating with all the other kids this year. I'm sooooo proud of him like you wouldn't believe. But then… What if he leaves me like Kurt did? I know Kurt is still technically here, but I can't imagine Remy leaving for college and leaving me here. We've sorta grown just a tiny bit apart here, each gaining our own friends and stuff, but really, we're still bonded at the hip. He's promised to me so many times that he would never leave me… but what would really happen if he did, even by accident? _

_Recently he's been hanging out with this Sarah girl more. She's teaching him Math better since it's the only thing he really has trouble with. He spends time with her more and more and it's scaring me. He thinks I don't know what goes on when he's with her; that they're just studying. Yeah right. Remy watched Logan_ _have his deal of girlfriends come into the house and stuff. He's a ladies man now, too. Flirts with anything in a skirt. He thinks I don't know. Does he think I'm still that ten-year-old he found in the alley? …Of course he doesn't. I have to let him grow… it's just hard. Everything's still hard! Moving on… since I can't talk about this anymore._

_Oh, I haven't said who I've absorbed yet this week! Okay, I got: Jean (again), Scott, Ororo (before she left), Remy (again!), Paige, Jonothon (who is this really, really hot sixteen-year-old from Britain!), Alex, and Betsy. Now a rundown of those powers: telepathy and telekinesis, eye beams (Scott has a more technical term for it, but it's just easier to say that), weather manipulation (which is just so much fun!), potential-to-kinetic energy charging (that's how Hank defined Remy's power… he still just blows things up in my head), kind of an icky skin peeling to reveal a different type of skin underneath (hopefully I'll be able to use that in the long run), psionic blasts and sorta telepathy, then a plasma type blast that I can shoot from my hands, and then even more telepathy from Betsy. She's got this added thing where she can produce this psychic blade from her fist. I say it looks like she's giving a really long, purple middle finger, but damn, that thing hurts. One time she knocked me out for five hours straight. And with Jono's powers, I gotta be extra careful. That boy doesn't have an inch of skin below his nose to his tummy. Scared the hell out of myself when I first manifested his power, but with his help, I got it under control._

_I found a way to lock all of these in my head, too. I use them randomly whenever I feel like it, but I mainly still have half of the institute saved in my head. I still have my sessions with Jean, and whether she found out about that little secret is beyond me, but she hasn't said anything. I think she really respects my privacy and that's what makes her a great person. She's like the mom I never had, but really needed._

_It's only a few minutes till five right now… maybe I can get into the kitchen and sneak a snack before dinner. Hopefully Hank won't be in there cooking. Good luck to me._

_ Rogue._

-----------

Rogue tucked her journal underneath her pillow and jumped off the bed. For a moment, she glanced around her room. She'd had it repainted; now it was a pale green, and her bed sheets were navy blue. Most of the stuffed animals were gone, except for the two angel bears that still took up residence on her bed. Her room felt empty. And on that thought, she left her room and headed for the boys' wing.

When Remy turned fifteen, the Professor had all but forced him out of Rogue's room. The other teachers agreed. Rogue and Remy never understood what the problem was. There was absolutely nothing sexual about them sleeping in the same bed. They were there for each other's comfort. Rogue on some nights missed Remy's arm around her stomach as he pulled himself to her if he was having a bad dream.

It obviously took some time for them to get used to not having each other there every moment. Even the very first night, Rogue trekked to Remy's room, pillow and blanket in hand. She'd nervously tapped on his door, hoping she wasn't waking him up.

On the other side, Remy was lying awake on a new bed, not feeling the warmth of Rogue next to him. When he'd heard the tap, he instantly knew it was Rogue. He could feel her anxiousness to get out of the hall for fear of being caught, and then the fact that she felt so alone without him. He'd jumped off the bed without another thought and ushered her into his room. They curled up on the bed and within moments they were asleep.

That morning when they heard everyone moaning about the wake-up calls, Rogue simply used Kurt's teleporting power to get her out of his room. Since that night was a breeze, every night she would make the journey to his room, sometimes with her golden angel bear, sometimes without. Most mornings she would have to wake up before seven in order to beat the wake-up call since she didn't have Kurt's power every morning (unless she intended to absorb him every day).

One morning, she'd gotten up early as planned and told Remy she'd see him at breakfast. She tiptoed out the door, only to be stopped only a few short steps from her door by Logan. "I've been watchin' you," he growled.

She glared at him. "You have no idea what it's like ta wake up alone!"

"More than you'd believe darlin'. That ain't no reason for you ta be sleepin' with boys. Yer twelve, fer Chrissake's."

"Ah don't care! Ya're not keepin' me from him!" Then she ran from him and slammed her door behind him. Remy listened from around the bend, knowing full well that Logan was going to come and talk to him next. He got the same deal, about how he was too old to be sleeping with a girl, regardless of whether anything was taking place.

That night, Rogue couldn't sleep, but she didn't leave her room. Even though she was mad at Logan, she still respected him. He'd done a lot for her over the past year and few months and she didn't want to screw up the friendship she had with him. To Logan, Rogue was the daughter that he never had and at some points, didn't even want. He'd grown to have a soft spot for her, half of it relating that she was abused by Victor. Nonetheless, Rogue stared at her ceiling the entire night.

Remy couldn't sleep either. He met Rogue at breakfast and both of them had circles under their eyes and were having quite a bit of trouble keeping their eyes open. "I've got an idea," Remy told her. "We should get walkie-talkies or somet'in', in case we can' sleep. Dat way, y' c'n talk t' me an' I c'n talk t' you wit'out leavin' our rooms." Rogue instantly loved the idea and Kitty took them out that day to the store. Whispers could be heard from both of their rooms on any given night for the next few months.

Rogue finally reached Remy's room, gently knocking on the door. She heard a simple "come in" from him and let herself in. Remy was sitting on his bed, studying for his math test for the next day. "Ya wanna come with me ta get a snack befoh dinner?"

Remy grinned over the brim of his book. "I'd be honored." He dropped his book on his mattress and leapt off the bed. He quickly glanced in the mirror, receiving a "you're so vain" look from Rogue. He smirked and rolled his eyes, revealing them to be completely black for a second. He grabbed a hair tie from his dresser, pulling up his still shoulder length hair. Only now, he had the under part shaved so he looked very rebellious, which he prided himself on. He really only listened to Logan, even though he'd grown to be a foot taller than the short Canadian.

"C'mon, you!" Rogue giggled as she grabbed his hand. "Ah'm starvin'!"

"We jus' had lunch five hours ago."

"Ah need a snack. Befoh you were beggin' me ta eat somethin'."

"Dat's because y' were twenty-five pounds underweight… an' dat was four years ago!" He laughed.

"Well, ya got me on a bad habit. Now come on!" She pulled harder on his hand, never losing her playfulness. Remy followed her, pretending to lag behind just to piss her off. She tugged as hard as she could. "Don't make me bring up Guido's power. Ah'm a mad girl with that strength."

"Fine, fine!" He laughed, standing up fully and walking next to her. She'd grown a bit herself. She was just slightly over five foot five, and her body was just beginning to grow into the curves she would have as a young woman. She'd let her hair flow down to her waist, her now signature white streak framing her cute face to the right. On most days it curled great, thanks to some tips from her friends who read magazines, but on that particular day, it was just a wavy mess.

"What're ya starin' at, Swamp Rat?" She inquired, poking his arm.

"Jus' how y' grown."

"You've grown too, shorty," she giggled. She would never tell him how handsome he'd gotten. 'Hot' was more the word for teenage lingo, but it was all the same. She knew why he could pull off being cocky and flirtatious with anyone: he definitely had the look. Alluring eyes, features that could make any girl drool; he had it made.

They reached the bottom of the steps and collectively 'aww'ed the sight of Bobby and Kitty cuddling on the couch. The two in question looked over their shoulders. A deep blush grew on Kitty's cheeks. "Ah swear, it took ya two fohever ta get yoah act goin' an' now we can't even see one of you without the other."

"We were just, umm…" Kitty started.

"Making up for lost time," Bobby grinned. He received a jab in the stomach from Kitty. "Besides, like the two of you are to talk."

"We're apart all the time," Rogue said.

"Yeah, it's not like we're in our own li'l bubble of lo-ove." Remy batted his eyes, causing Rogue to giggle.

"Like you and Sarah, Cajun?" Bobby countered with his eyebrows raised.

Kitty swore she heard a tiny 'eep' from Rogue. If she had telepathic powers, she would have told Bobby "Nice move. Ix-nay on the Arah-say." Instead, she settled for phasing her hand through his pants to grab onto a little more than sensitive part of his body. She was satisfied when an 'eep' erupted from his lips and it wasn't a flattering sound either.

Remy felt Rogue freeze inside and instantly knew it was a bad topic. "We were jus' headin' t' de kitchen f'r a snack." It was moments like these when Remy realized his empathy. Over the years, his powers had gotten more under control, as did the empathy. He no longer fed off of Rogue for her happiness, because now had his own. That doesn't mean he wouldn't feel her change moods instantaneously.

"Yeah… a snack," Rogue agreed. The color that she didn't realize flooded her cheeks drained, revealing her pale, freckled skin.

Kitty grinned. "Good luck getting by Hank."

"Thanks," Rogue mumbled, going ahead of Remy. _Dammit, dammit, dammit. Great way ta lock up like that!_

"T'anks a lot, Drake," Remy huffed.

"Man, I didn't realize…"

"I've been tryin' t' keep me an' Sarah under wraps f'r how long an' a line like dat is jus' great!" Remy clenched his fists, making sure to keep his power in the back of his mind. He'd gotten plenty mad over his time here. The professor had worked with him, taught him the more professional way to hold the energy inside with his emotions. He hadn't had any accidents for half a year and he wasn't about to start now.

"Hey, I'm sorry, alright? How was I supposed to know that Rogue developed some little crush on you?"

"Bobby!" Kitty hissed. "It isn't a crush." That gained an intrigued look from Remy. "Rogue just isn't ready to share you yet. She was totally broken when Kurt left for school and you're all she has left from her childhood."

"When did y' get all analytical 'bout me an' Rogue?"

Kitty glared at him for a moment. "Because she told me. Alright? She'll probably get mad at me for telling you, but you needed to know. In simple terms, she is scared to death that you'll leave her completely alone, despite everything she's been given."

"I've told her so many times by now-"

"Why don't you show her for a chance? When was the last time you guys went out?"

"She doesn' like t' leave the mansion! Sometimes she's still scared of her own shadow."

"Then why don't you help her instead of avoiding it?"

"I don' need dis lecture from you," he growled before leaving them. He didn't even head in the direction of the kitchen to follow Rogue.

"Good job, Kit-Kat."

"Oh, shut-up!" She got up from the couch and went upstairs without so much as a glance back.

"Dammit," Bobby muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"C'mon, Hank. Not even a piece of fruit?" Rogue carped.

"No, no, and no again. You know that dinner is going to be served in approximately thirty minutes."

"But Ah won't last that long!" She stuck out her bottom lip - it was her last resort. If that didn't work, she was sure to tough out the next thirty minutes. She willed her stomach to growl. "Please?"

Hank's gently bestial (talk about your oxymoron's) face scrunched up in thought. Then he sighed. "Alright. But don't you speak a word to Jean. She knows how you like to fit something extra before dinner."

"Ah swear Ah won't tell a soul." She crossed her finger over her heart. "Is a banana all raht?"

"That should be fine."

She grinned and grabbed one from the huge fruit basket on the kitchen table. Days like these she felt like an eleven-year-old again. She slid out the chair and took a seat, observing Hank as he put the last touches on a meat platter before sticking it back in the oven. "What's got you cookin' tanight? Don't we usually order out by the truck full?" Hank was the self-proclaimed culinary master of the house. When things were ordered in, he carefully examined them and not a single thing could get past his eyes without careful inspection.

"That is true, my young Southern Belle -" She grinned at the term of endearment. She'd never get sick of it. "-But I brought it upon myself that since we are not as full a house tonight, that I could whip something up on my own, so to speak."

"Ah'm sure it'll be delicious. It's smells great already."

"Thank you," he smiled warmly.

As Rogue peeled her banana, she glanced towards the door. Maybe she'd overreacted just a little bit in the living room. The name Sarah just made her skin crawl, though. Remy… Sarah… Remy touching Sarah. She knew it all. Rogue had touched him several times since Sarah had enrolled in the institute. She'd felt his attraction towards the new girl immediately. _He's never gonna leave me. He promised me. Ah'm jus' overreactin'. This girl won't come between me an' him! How could she? She's known Remy for, like, what? Five months? That's nothin' compared to the **years** me an' him have._ She took a deep breath without realizing it. Once she was sure she'd convinced herself there was nothing to worry about, she only had one thought left. _Why doesn't he realize this is tearin' me apart?_

Remy instantly found himself in the Danger Room. Somehow in his rage he'd gotten his uniform on and grabbed several packs of cards. Luckily, a couple other students were in a session, so he wouldn't have to worry about setting up his own programs. And then again, unfortunately, the one person in question was in the room training that very second.

Even in the midst of training, Sarah's bright pink hair was spiked and a self-made bone collar donned her neck. Her uniform was sleeveless, as during training she liked to have several bones stick out from her arms. In her time at the Xavier Institute, Sarah had excelled in hand-to-hand combat, using her bones as weapons, much as anyone else would use knives or sticks.

When she saw Remy walk into the room, her green eyes danced with delight. After finishing off the hologram she was currently fighting, she made her way over to him. "Hey," she said when she was close enough. The smile on her face faded once she saw the look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

He pushed past her. "Not a damn t'ing." Guido was being double-teamed by two robots - nothing he couldn't handle - but quicker than the eye could see, Remy had slipped a card into his hand and with a flick of his wrist, he launched it at one of the robots. It exploded on contact.

"Babe," Sarah put a hand on his shoulder when she was sure he wasn't planning to take anything else out. "Something's wrong. Don't deny it."

"It's Rogue." Once those words came from his mouth, Sarah's hand slipped off his shoulder.

"It's always about her," she said quietly. Sarah didn't understand Rogue and Remy's connection. In her eyes, Rogue was just this little girl tagging onto Remy and holding him back from everything.

"She knows about us."

"So? Everyone and their second and third cousins know about us! It was only a matter of time before it got to her too!"

"Y' jus' don' get it!" He said loudly.

Sarah put a hand on her protruding hip. "Then explain, please, because I'm curious as hell over here."

"Rogue… merde, I don' even know how t' explain it. It's like I be walkin' on glass t' keep her safe an' I knew how much dis would upset her."

"Just because of your empathy?"

"It's diff'rent wit' her. Like on a diff'rent level completely." He never really explained much to Sarah. Their relationship revolved around Remy's tutoring and sex. There was no reason to tell her anything that she didn't need to know.

"Remy… come here." She slid her hands into his and made him look her in the eyes. "I know I could never ask you to choose between me and her, that would be incredibly selfish and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be happy with the answer, but -" She got a certain glint in her jade eyes that Remy knew all too well. "Lemme help you forget her." When Remy didn't respond, she added, "Please? Just for a little bit?" She had a smirk on her face that dared anyone to say no.

"Maybe later, chere. I jus' need t' figure t'ings out."

She sighed. "Fair enough. You'll know where I'll be." Then she turned and walked out. Remy noticed how everyone else had begun filtering out, too. Probably getting cleaned up for dinner. And out of sheer luck for Remy, Logan had been leading the training session and was hanging around for some solitary work. That was sarcasm, mind you.

"You an' the girl havin' problems?"

"Not'in' I can' handle."

"I was talkin' about you an' Rogue."

Remy sighed. "I dunno, den."

"Maybe it would've been better if she heard it from you instead of tiptoeing on thin ice."

The Cajun looked at the older man, wondering how he could have possibly known what this was about. Instead of dwelling on that thought, he said, "I knew how she felt de second she first saw Sarah - how me an' her would have so much in common -"

"Gumbo, you an' I both know that ya got shit in common. Ya like to fuck an' that's about it."

_Good ol' Logan. Blunt as shit._ "So what? So I like a good screw here an' dere."

"Yer breakin' her heart."

Remy raised his eyebrows. He never thought of it that way. However, he had to keep his poker face up. "How would y' know dat?" He asked a little too crudely.

"Because when I walk down the halls at night, I hear her cryin'."

"What?" He wasn't expecting that.

"She cries. I don't know whether she's had a bad dream or if it's somethin' else, but I know sobbing when I hear it."

"Dammit," he muttered, looking away from Logan.

"You two have gotten older and I think the three year difference is really clear right now. She wants you to be the guy she knew when you first came here and not the testosterone inflated jerk you've become."

"How come ev'ryone knows dis crap an' I don'?"

Logan shrugged. "Yer not as observant as ya think ya are."

"Whatev'r."

"Drop the cocky additude, Cajun. You can either train with me now, or talk to Rogue."

"I'm tryin' t' figure out which one would be easier."

"You'd be better off talkin' ta her. With the mood I'm in, training won't be a field trip."

"T'anks f'r de advice. I'll see y' at dinner or whenever den."

"Good luck, Gumbo."

"Yup," he mumbled walking off.

Remy made a stop up at his room to change out of his uniform. Spandex wasn't his thing. He changed into his baggy fit jeans and a solid red long sleeved shirt. Glancing into the mirror, he pulled his hair out of the ponytail and ruffled his hair so it framed his face. Sighing loudly, he was ready to leave when something caught his eye.

A single piece of paper sat on his pillow. The white heavily contrasted against his black sheets. Curious, he walked over and plucked it off the bed. _I'm not mad at you._ It simply said. "Well, dat's vague." It could be either of the girls. Rogue for obvious reasons, and then Sarah because of what was said in the Danger Room. He hoped it was from Rogue. Logan was right. There really wasn't a single thing holding him and Sarah together except for the physical attraction.

Remy scrunched his nose in thought. He leaned down and opened his side table drawer. Reaching in, he quickly found his walkie-talkie. He hadn't talked to Rogue with it for possibly a year. He wondered if she ever carried it with her. He clicked it on. "P'tite?"

Rogue had taken her food up to her room so she could eat alone. She wasn't feeling too up for eating with company, especially after making a spectacle of herself in the living room. Kitty kept trying to talk to her, but she dodged her by using Kitty's own powers against her. Fortunately, the now twenty-two-year old took the hint and let her be.

She heard a small crackle like static from underneath her bed. "_P'tite?_"

"Remy?" She said, not realizing at first that it was coming from her walkie-talkie. Grinning brightly, she all but fell off the bed scrambling for it. She snatched it off the floor and pressed the button. "Remy?" She repeated.

_"Hey, chere."_

"Hi. Ya didn't go downstairs ta eat?"

_"Not yet. I, umm… wanted t' talk about what happened earlier."_

"… sure… Ah mean, if ya want to."

_"We need t'. Stay in y'r room. I'll be dere in a second."_

"All raht. See ya." She put the walkie-talkie down, silently glad she had kept up on replacing the batteries so she could leave it on indefinitely. She got off her bed and ran to her mirror, grabbing her brush along the way. She brushed her auburn locks furiously, making sure it wasn't too much of an unruly mess. "Dammit!" she hissed when she realized she'd gotten food on her shirt. Quickly, she peeled it off and threw it under her bed. She ran over to her dresser and began rummaging for a new sweater.

A knock on the door filled the room. "Chere?"

_Eep!_ "Hold on a sec, sugah!" She grabbed a black turtleneck and pulled it over her head. "Come in."

The door opened and Remy slipped in. "Nice hair, p'tite," he chuckled.

Rogue glanced at the mirror. As she pulled the sweater over her head, the static electricity produced caused her hair to stand on end. She giggled nervously as she smoothed it down. "Oops."

"Weren' y' wearin' blue earlier?"

"Yeah… ya know me though. Ah spilled sauce on mah shirt."

He smirked. Rogue used to think that smile was just for her, but it was just a smile. "Okay, Rogue. We need t' talk."

She dropped her smile. "There really isn't anythin' ta talk about."

"Y' know dere is." He walked over to her bed and sat down. "C'mere."

Timidly she walked over and put her dinner tray on the floor. Then she climbed onto the bed next to him. "Ah knew all along," she whispered.

"How?" He asked idly without thinking.

"Ah saw yoah thoughts every time Ah would absorb you. An' Ah've gotten ya a few good times in the last few months." He nodded. "What hurts the most is ya lied ta me."

"I didn' even t'ink of y' knowin'."

"You should of. Ah know Ah can never lie ta you with yoah empathy. You may be able ta lie ta everyone else, but Ah'm the psychic vampire. Ya can't hide anythin' from me without me suckin' it outta ya with a tiny tap."

He looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry, chere. I really am."

"Ah know ya are. And…" she sighed. "Ah'm sorry foh actin' like ya need ta keep it from me. Everythin' is changin', Rem. Ya're gettin' an' gonna graduate an' all, an' Ah'm here playing with dolls an' hopin' ya'll still come ta mah tea parties."

"Chere… y' never played wit' dolls or had tea parties."

"It's a metaphor, Swamp Rat."

"I know," he grinned. When she didn't smile in return, his face relaxed.

"Jus' promise me ya won't lie again. You can keep on seein' Sarah, because Ah can't dictate yoah life like that."

He put his arm around her shoulder. "I promise, p'tite. An' from now on, I'm keepin' dis on me." He reached into this back pocket and showed her his walkie-talkie. "Dat way if y' need me, I'll be dere."

"Ah'll keep mine in mah bag, too." She smiled faintly.

Remy sighed. "I've been neglectin' 'us' too much these days."

"Ah understand why. Ah mean, you have yoah friends, Ah've got mine. Yoah friends don't understand how ya're friends with a gal mah age."

"Dey don't understand how y' my _best_ friend," he corrected. "But y' know what I say t' dem?"

Her smile grew the slightest bit. "What do ya say?"

"I say, 'enculé, y' don' know what it's like t' be fully connected wit' someone - especially like m'Rogue."

"Do you really?"

"Well… depending on de person is how harsh I be."

She snuggled into his arm. "Thank you foh defendin' 'us'."

"I was defendin' you." He pulled her into a complete hug. She curled up on his lap like she would all those years ago. She truly felt at home. Remy ran his hands lightly through her hair, knowing she loved the motion. "Y' wan' go out t'night?"

She lifted her head off his chest. "Out? Like where?"

"T' de movies or somethin'."

"How 'bout we stay in? Ah know! We could watch the _Lion King_!" She giggled.

"Don' y' t'ink y' be gettin' a li'l bit old f'r dat movie?"

She pouted. "But Ah haven't watched it since we watched it all that long ago!" He remained poker faced. "Ah won't sing this time. An' we can watch it up here so ya don't look bad in front of yoah buddies. Pweeeeeze?"

He sighed theatrically but then grinned. "Y' got a deal, but I t'ink I'll let y' dance. Y' love it so much." He received a giggle from her. "I'll go down an' grab some food an' de movie, alright?"

"Sounds great."

"Hey…"

"Hmm?"

"How 'bout a sleepover? Jus' you an' me. Jus' like old times since we be reminiscing anyway."

"That's the best thing Ah've heard all day, Remy."

"An' what I said before means nothing! Say it ain' so!" He rushed out the door with a hand to his forehead.

"Ah'm jokin'! Remy, come back!"

He poked his head in the doorway. "I know. I'll be back."

"Ah know." She beamed. He left again and Rogue could do nothing but smile. She climbed up on her bed and pulled her journal out from underneath her pillow. Opening it, she scrawled down the time and a few words. _My Remy is back._

TBC…


	19. Broken Chains

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 19

_Day 1554_

_You have no idea what it was like to wake up next to Remy. We had camped out on the floor in a heap of pillows and comforters. I haven't slept with him in like three years. I forgot how much I missed it. _

_I woke up before him at seven and just kind of watched him until he stirred awake about twenty minutes later. It was kind of like one of those romantic movies where the girl finally did it with the guy she's been fawning over for years and the next morning all she can think about is how the sun coming in from the window is hitting and glorifying his perfect features… Oh my Gosh… I did not just make that comparison…_

------

Remy blinked as the sunbeams stretched across the lengths of the room. Instantly he shielded his eyes. "Oh!" he heard Rogue gasp as she got up and drew the curtains. "Ah fohgot about that."

"No harm, pt'tite," he smiled lazily. "How long y' been up?"

"Not too long. Ah'm assumin' breakfast'll be ready soon."

Remy nodded and then his face registered what day it was. "Merde, I got dat test t'day."

"You'll do great," she insisted. "You've studied yoah butt off an' then some."

"T'ank you, cherie. I c'n always count on y' f'r an' ego boost."

"That's what Ah'm here foh, silly."

Remy sat up and stretched out his just-waking muscles. "Dat y' are." He cracked his neck and groaned. "Dat's better. Anyone stop by t' see why I wasn' in m'room?"

"No one that Ah know of."

"Good t' hear." He stood up and stretched some more. "I should get goin', just incase dey haven' bot'ered t' check at all."

"Oh… all raht. Thanks foh humorin' me last night."

He pulled off his long-sleeved T-shirt that he'd worn specifically for Rogue to reveal a white wife-beater underneath. "Chere, dere's not'in' better den stayin' up till three t' watch Disney movies."

She grinned. "Still. Thank you."

"Don' mention it." He bent down and gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head through her hair. "I'll see y' at breakfast."

"Mm-hmm," she hummed. "See ya."

------

_He kissed me. It was nothing overly spectacular, just like a way of showing he cared. It took me by surprise, though. I can't remember him ever doing that. I was so speechless. Incredibly. This isn't good. I shouldn't be feeling things like this. It's Remy! Sweet, kind and… erm, hot Remy. No! I'm just setting myself up for more hurt if I pull crap like this now. Especially since he went out with Sarah tonight…_

------

"Hey, Remy," Rogue said, sitting down next to him in the TV room.

"Hey! Guess what?" He was grinning ear to ear.

"Judgin' by yoah perked up attitude… ya passed the test?"

"Wit' flyin' colors!"

"That's great! We should go out an' celebrate."

"Y' want t' go out? As in… off grounds?"

"Yeah," she giggled. "You'll be with me so Ah'll be fine."

His smile faded. "I tol' Sarah I'd take her out f'r some pizza as t'anks…"

"Oh."

"But we'll go out aft'rwards. We can go see a movie."

"Ah guess… what time will ya be home?"

"No later den seven. Dey'll let us stay out a bit. It's a Friday."

"Okay."

"Y' choose the movie an' mooch de money off one of de teachers."

"Sounds like a plan," she giggled. "Ah think Ah'll go take a nap. Mah four hours of sleep is finally gettin' ta me."

"All right, p'tite. Y' want me t' wake y' up b'fore I leave?"

She nodded as she stood up. "That'd be nice." She'd glanced at the clock on the TV stand. "So… about three-four hours then?"

"Dat gon' be enough?"

"Should be. How are you functionin' on four hours of sleep?"

He shrugged. "I never slept long when I lived on de streets. Guess I'm jus' used t' it here an' dere."

Rogue leaned against the doorjamb, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Ah just realized that neither of us have talked about the South in so long."

"Hmm… y' right. Dat jus' kinda slipped."

"Ah like hearin' stories about the streets. Makes ya seem so much more rugged an' stuff," she smiled.

"Logan told me before dat I don' know merde 'bout anyt'in'."

"Well, Logan can kiss mah lily white butt."

Remy chuckled. "Dat would be interestin' t' watch."

"That's disgustin'!" She cried out laughing. "Ugh, ya're gettin' these images in mah head. Ah'm leavin' now."

He smirked. "G'night, chere."

"More like good afternoon."

"Don' be technical an' just go t' sleep."

She laughed. "Fine, Ah will. See ya."

------

_I know I told him it would be all right if he still saw Sarah… but it's still weird as hell. I don't know what I'm feeling at all. Like… am I actually falling for Remy? That's ridiculous. I mean, it's Remy, no doubt about it. It just seems wrong to have these feelings - if they're actual feelings - about him. I want to say that he's been like a brother for all this time, but it's not like that though. He's my best friend in the whole world. He swore to protect me forever. I guess that kind of promise allows for something like this._

_Dammit… why does he need to be going out with Sarah tonight? I wish I could touch her and see what she really wants from him. Logan_ _told me it's just sex. Hell, I know it's just sex. I've touched him, I know._

…_Sarah gets to touch him without hurting him. That's why this all seems so silly. It never used to matter before about whether I could touch someone without stealing a part of them when I pulled away, but now it does. In the highly unlikely situation of my over-imaginative mind that Remy would ever feel for me like I think I do for him… how would I touch him? I would never make him happy like Sarah can make him happy._

_I wonder if I'll be untouchable forever._

------

"Wake up, sleepy head," Remy cooed as he pushed open Rogue's door.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled from the floor. She hadn't bothered to clean up from the night before. Pillows and blankets surrounded her, all cradling her body warmly.

"Y' look so cute wrapped up like a bug," he whispered as he knelt down beside her.

She picked her head off her pillow and was met with laughter from Remy. A quick glance to the mirror told her that she had hair sticking everywhere. "Quiet," she muttered with a smirk while she smoothed it down. "Are ya leavin' now?"

"Oui. Y' okay wit' dis?"

"O' course Ah am. Why shouldn't you be able ta go out with yoah friends? Ah was thinkin' of hangin' out with Jono foh a bit."

"Jono?"

"Yeah. Have you ever talked to him? He's really nice an' his power is just so cool. Ah'm hopin' that he can teach me how ta use it."

"Oh… alright. Wait, he's de kid who came from London a couple months ago?" She nodded. Remy knew him all right. He was the new kid who was sweeping girls off their feet with his 'cute' little accent and the whole 'missing most of his front upper body' thing. The fact that he was sort of a spook didn't make Remy feel better either. Did he want Rogue talking to this guy? "Well… as long as y' have somet'in' t' do. I won' be long."

She grinned. "Ah'll look up the movie an' everythin' like we talked about." She pulled herself out of the mass of blankets and walked over to her closet and pulled out a green zip-up hoodie. "Go on an' have a good time. Ah need ta get cleaned up."

"Right. I'll see ya in a few hours."

She nodded, holding back from biting her bottom lip. "Ah'll see ya when ya get back."

------

_I haven't gotten around to checking the movie times nor asking anyone for money. I did call Kurt though to see how his classes are and if he was coming home this weekend. He said he was. I'm really excited about seeing him. He said he'd be home tomorrow around noon. I'm hoping he and I will just be able to go out as the two of us. I think spacing myself from Remy right now would be a good thing as I try to figure out my head._

_Heh, you know what I'll never get used to? Kurt in his holographic form. He looks completely different. I've been looking at that image for the last four years at times and every time he pops around a corner if he's going out to church or to class I'm like "Who are you?" He's scared me several times by just teleporting in whatever room I am like right in front of my face. Whatever keeps him happy._

_I never did go talk to Jono. He went out with Monet and Alison to somewhere or another, I don't really know. Maybe the karaoke club again, since Alison is so big about her singing. _

_So here I am, underneath my tree that I love to write under. It's right where the estate grounds meet the forest. I give myself a lot of credit for venturing out this far._

_It's cold sitting here. It snowed this morning, and Ororo wasn't here to stop it. She hates the snow. She loves heat as much as I do, but something about the snow is really peaceful. Like if I look up, I can see my footsteps leading to here marring the perfect blanket of white. I feel bad that I did that… but then that's just stupid. Like I could help it._

------

Creak.

Rogue looked up from her journal a moment to stare out into the darkness of the forest. The sun was just beginning to fall behind the trees, turning the sky beautiful shades of pink and purple. What rustled her out of her writing fit was the noise she heard. She didn't feel any air moving, so that ruled out what made the noise. Could it have been an animal? But then again… weren't they all hibernating?

With her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, the back of her neck felt cold, like all the teeny-tiny hairs were standing on end, trying to keep her warm. She felt so very naked and vulnerable.

------

_I'm getting chills sitting here. I think it's about time I actually went inside and started looking up movie times. It's when the sun goes down that I really start getting freaked out. Every little noise sparks something inside me. I don't know if I'll get around to writing some more tonight, so I guess goodbye for now._

_ Rogue_

------

She closed the book and clutched it to her chest. A chill slithered its way up her spine as she picked herself up and dusted off the back of her pants. She'd sat on a sawed off trunk and no doubt little bits of snow and dirt had collected on her jeans. For a moment, she put the book down on the trunk and reached into her pockets for her gloves. Her hand momentarily brushed against her walkie-talkie before she found her gloves.

As she pulled the gloves on, she wondered if the frequency of the walkie-talkies would reach Remy wherever he was. _Maybe he isn't too far away_… she thought as her hand brushed against it again. "No," she told herself firmly. "Ah'm not gonna interrupt him. Ah'll wait mah turn." She sighed as her thoughts flooded with those of Remy again.

She dug into her mind for his memories of recent days to see if there was anything positive about her. Of course, they were all positive thoughts of her, but she was looking more in the area of a hint… something that told her she wasn't foolish to feel the way she was feeling.

She shook her head. "No. No more." She kept chanting to herself those words as she picked up her journal and turned to leave.

_Creak._

She whirled back to the forest. The noise was louder this time, closer. _Ya're_ _makin' yoahself weak, gal. Stop it. Ya're imagin' everythin' as a defense to fohget about Remy._ She nodded as she turned back around. _Though thinkin' about him ain't the healthiest thing raht now._ She sighed and turned again, taking a few steps before she heard it again.

_**Creak.**_

It was all but on top of her now. She froze in her tracks. _How could Ah have imagined that? It's so close._

Trembling, she took a step forward without looking back. _If Ah look back, Ah'll just see how stupid Ah'm bein' by imagin' somethin' that ain't there. Ah've been paranoid all mah life. It's gonna stop now._

She suddenly felt air - warm and hot - on the back of her neck. Her eyes went wide as her mouth crinkled in a silent sob. She willed herself to run, but her legs just wouldn't listen to her. Before she could even realize it, a shadow had come out of the corner of her right eye and clamped over her mouth. She whimpered when she couldn't scream. She felt a painful stab to the left side of her neck, instantly making her drowsy as whatever flowed through her system.

Her eyes drooped slowly as her body felt sleepy, but her entire mind was alive with fear. Before her eyelids dropped one final time, a breath so putrid wafted through the air. It was a chuckle. A chuckle she knew all too well. Her mind wailed silently as one question filled her last bit of consciousness.

"Did ya miss me, frail?"

One thing led to another whenever Remy was out with Sarah. At the moment, they'd found themselves in the backseat of Sarah's Jeep Wrangler. Pizza was one thing, making out was another.

"Wait, wait," Remy said as Sarah had made it down to his pants' zipper. "What time is it?"

"What does it matter?" Sarah asked huskily. She resumed unbuttoning him.

Remy didn't know what was wrong with him. Suddenly everything felt very out of place, like if he were to step outside the car, he wouldn't know what world he lived in. "What time is it?"

Sarah sighed and checked her cell phone. "It's almost 6:00. Happy?"

"Non…" he said, sitting back up and pulling his shirt down. "We got t' get back t' de institute."

"Why?" She pouted, finding her discarded shirt on the floor.

"I tol' Rogue I'd go t' de movies wit' her t'night."

He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit angry when Sarah rolled her eyes. "That's where you were last night. I didn't want to ask, but I just have to. You slept in her room, didn't you?" She asked accusingly.

"Yeah… so?"

"You have any idea what you sound like? 'Yeah, I slept in the same bed with a fifteen-year-old girl.'"

"I don' necessarily care what you or de guys would t'ink."

"Remy… regardless of whether she was alright with it, it's still statutory rape."

"Y' serious?"

She nodded. "Yeah. She's under the age of consent. So whatever you and your little friend did last night-"

"Wait, wait, wait, what de hell are you implyin'?"

"Remy," she pulled her shirt over her head and sat back against the seat next to him. "It's obvious you got it bad for her."

"What de hell are y' talkin' about? Jus' because m'best friend is a femme t'ree years younger dan me means I've 'got it bad' f'r her'?"

"It's not just that. You're always talking about her. Like everything is about her."

"So y' t'ink I'm fuckin' her, too, is that what y' sayin'?"

She laughed. "Of course I'm not saying that. She can't touch anyone."

Even though the statement was true, it still made Remy see red. "Den what de hell are y' sayin'?"

"Remy, we've been doing whatever for how many months now? I know how creative you are." She grinned. "I'm the envy of all the girls at school."

"I can' believe I didn' see how twisted you are when we first started. We're goin' home." He climbed up into the front seat and turned the car on.

"Now you're just denying it. God, Remy, can't you see? I'm not trying to make you feel bad about you liking Rogue, I'm just trying to get you to admit it."

"An' what if I don' like her like dat?"

"Then I'd say you were lying. I've watched how your face changes when you talk to her or about her. Remember yesterday how I said I didn't want you to choose between us. It's not only because I knew you were going to choose her, because I thought it would make you realize how much she _really_ means to you. It might not be in a total romantic way, but there's gotta be more than just friendship between you guys."

"Well, how 'bout dis: what if she doesn' feel dat way 'bout me at all?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Remy, doll. You really don't have a clue. Even when she's flirting with Jono, everyone knows she's always going to love you."

"How de hell does everyone know dis an' not me! I'm fuckin' connected t' dat girl. Wait, flirtin' wit' Jono? When did dat happen?"

She smirked. "After she left the TV room before I went in to see you, I saw Jono stop her. She got all blushy and everything like that. That boy really knows how to talk to his girls, but I've seen you interact with her and how she interacts with you. And going back to your first question… I've been talking to the other psychics in the house and they said that since it's probably been there since Day One, you've come to be totally used to feeling it from her that you never thought a single thing of it."

Remy was silent. This was just too much to think about. Rogue… his little Rogue. There was no way he felt something for her besides friendship, right? It was just too weird. It seemed out of place… which reminded him of why he stopped Sarah from opening his pants earlier. "C'n I use y' cell phone?"

Sarah smiled and handed it to him. "You calling her?"

He nodded mutely and dialed the Institute. Someone picked up after two rings. "Xavier Institute," Hank greeted.

"Henri, it be Remy. Is Rogue dere?"

"Hmm… I haven't seen her since she was talking with Alison and that was two hours ago."

"Do y' t'ink she's in her room?"

"I will check. Do you mind being put on hold?"

"Not at all. Jus' find her."

The phone clicked and Remy's eyes averted to Sarah. "I'll drive home," she offered. He nodded and slid into the passenger seat. "Ya know, you only sound just a _little_ bit desperate."

"Jus' drive. Dis is jus' confusin'."

"What's confusing about it? She's a cute little girl."

"Dat's de point! She's a little girl. I don' know where everyone is gettin' de notion dat I'm secretly in love wit' her."

"But you haven't fully denied it yet either, have you?"

"Non… I haven'."

"Remy?" Hank was back on the phone.

"Oui? Y' see her dere?"

"I did not. She must be elsewhere on the grounds or perhaps she actually when out."

"Alright… well, me an' Sarah'll be home in ten minutes. I'll look f'r her den."

"I will keep an eye out for her. Oh, dear. Nathan just got into the cookies again."

"Go 'head den, Henri. We'll see y' when we get back."

Hank could be heard chastising Nathan. "Good-bye," he fit in before hanging up the phone.

Remy clicked the phone off. "Where de hell could she be?" Sarah shrugged and kept her eyes on the road.

"Winter sucks. It gets way too dark out too early."

"Maybe she's in her spot by de forest… I followed her out dere a couple times wit'out her knowin'…" Remy suddenly thought of something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Y' t'ink I'll be able t' reach her?"

"Can't you just wait until we get home?"

He shook his head furiously. "Somet'in' sparked in m'head. Somet'in' very wrong. O' course I instantly t'ink o' her."

"I know why…" Sarah sang.

"Shush. Dis is serious."

"What if it's nothing and you're just overreacting? If she's on the grounds, what could possibly happen to her?"

"It's Rogue. Anyt'in' c'n happen wit' her." He pushed the button for the walkie-talkie. "Rogue? P'tite? Y' dere?" Static answered him. "Maybe we're too far away?"

"Those are just kiddy toys. Wait till we get closer."

_Why do I get de feelin' dat might be too late?_ He waited a full excruciatingly painful minute before trying again. "C'mon, p'tite. Where y' at?"

It buzzed for a moment and then cleared as if she'd hit the button on her side. "I'll tell ya where she's at."

That wasn't Rogue. "Who de hell is dis?" Remy growled into the toy.

"An' old buddy, Cajun. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out." Remy's eyes went wide and burned bright. "An' let's just say that your little orange trick ain't gonna help." Then the toy went fuzzy.

"Merde." His world collapsed and the bits of scenery outside the window broke like glass. "Dieu, non, non, non…"

"Remy?" Sarah glanced off the road, her eyes wide with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Drive. Jus' drive as fast y' c'n wit'out killin' us."

"What the hell just happened!"

His jaw trembled as he tried to find the words. "Victor found her. An' I wasn' dere t' stop him." Remy's brow wrinkled with anger as he mistakenly charged the walkie-talkie.

"Shit! Remy, throw that out the window!" She lowered the window and he did so without a word.

He buried his face in his hands. Sarah's heart just about fell to her toes when she saw the first of Remy's tears spill through his nimble fingers. "I wasn' dere t' stop him," he whispered again, over taken by grief.

TBC…


	20. Flashes of Guilt

Street Livin' 

Chapter 20

Remy silently cried the entire way home. At points his face would be lost in the palms of his hands, or he would be staring forlornly out the window. To say the least, he was a complete and utter mess. Sarah almost cried as well. She felt horribly guilty about bringing up Rogue. But then again, they would have never known of her capture otherwise until they were back at the institute.

They were only a few hundred feet away from the main gates when she spoke up again. "Remy? Who is Victor?"

He didn't respond, his mind regressing back to the office building so many, many months ago. It took every bit of his training and control to not charge the Jeep like the walls of his past home.

_Merde, why wasn't I dere? If I wasn' t'inkin' wit' m'dick she would be safe._

"Remy… don't blame yourself…"

"How can' I?" He suddenly screamed. "Dis is all m'fault. I promised her a thousand times ov'r dat I would always be dere f'r her an' keep her safe an' dis is what happens!"

"Who exactly are we dealing with?"

"Rogue an' Kurt's stepfat'er."

"… Wasn't he M.I.A. for like four years?"

"Oui."

"Whoa." Sarah was about to ask what could have possibly brought him out of hiding now, but like Remy would've known the answer. "Did he do something bad to Rogue that no one knows about?" She asked timidly.

Remy's jaw trembled as he thought of his poor Rogue… in the arms of that maniac again. "H-he… abused her when she was younger," he said so quietly Sarah had to lean closer to hear him.

Her eyes went wide. "In what way? Just like hitting and stuff?" Remy somberly shook his head. "Oh… wow. That's… not good."

"No shit."

"Well, look at it this way! He won't be able to hurt her that way. He can't touch her without hurting himself!" She tried sounding upbeat so Remy could somehow see that things maybe weren't that bad.

"He'll still hurt her. I know it." By that time, they'd pulled up to the institute. Without a word to Sarah, Remy got out of the Jeep and ran to the spot he knew Rogue had to have been at. He followed her path of small footsteps in the snow all the way to the edge of the forest. His heart stopped at what he saw.

Her footsteps had backtracked a little bit, as if she were heading back into the house. Larger, more ominous footsteps had crept up behind her in long strides. Ignoring that he was kicking up snow and ruining the perfect layer of white, he picked up his pace and knelt down to where Rogue's footsteps stopped. There lay her walkie-talkie, crushed. A few inches away, her journal had been haphazardly thrown. _I have t' know if she knew he was comin'_.

He reached and gently picked up the notebook, shaking the snowflakes out of it. He felt guilty for wanting to read it, but he had to know. Even if it was the tiniest bit of fear that leaked out from her hand to the pen she was writing with to the paper, he would feel better knowing she tried to run – that she had the chance to run. Not knowing where to start, he found the top of the latest entry and read. First he started off smiling about Rogue's perception of the sleepover. It was cute. He probably would've done the same thing if he'd been up before her.

_'Oh my Gosh… I did not just make that comparison…'_

Remy's eyebrows raised. Then he reread it. _Holy shit… maybe de ot'ers are right about Rogue havin' a crush on me_. He continued reading out of curiosity to see if he could prove them wrong.

_'This isn't good. I shouldn't be feeling things like this. It's Remy!_'

"Merde," he muttered. His eyes couldn't help but keep reading now.

He read and reread the part about Sarah. _'Hell, I know it's just sex. I've touched him, I know_.' He didn't realize that his relationship with Sarah had caused her so much toil. _'In the highly unlikely situation of my over-imaginative mind that Remy would ever feel for me like I think I do for him… how would I touch him?'_ "Y' wouldn' need t' touch me, chere," he whispered unconsciously.

_'I wonder if I'll be untouchable forever.'_

Rogue woke up groggily, not even wanting to open her eyes. She felt very enclosed, like the world had completely shut down on her. She felt cold, her shivers reaching all the way to the marrow of her bones and back out again. A whimper unconsciously escaped her lips. "…remy…"

She ran her hands along her arms in a short-willed attempt to get herself warm and realized her hands and arms were bare. She ran her hands along the rest of her body and soon found out everything was missing except her underclothes. Her face contorted with a swallowed sob as she curled herself up into a ball as well as she could. "Please, God," she prayed. "If ya can hear me… help."

He examined every inch of the page after he finished reading it for the third time. His emotions were on overload and it was becoming difficult to keep a clear head. He noticed between the paragraphs about it snowing and then how she got chills that her writing had different styles. She always wrote with an ink pen - it made her feel like she was writing in the 'old days', she'd told him - and the ink was thicker as she began that last paragraph, as if she'd stopped for a moment. There was also a blot on the line in between the paragraphs. The pen had sat there for a moment.

"Why didn' y' get away, chere?" He whispered to the book. It was then he heard multiple footsteps coming from behind him. He weakly glanced over his shoulder to catch the blur of pink and blue that was Sarah and Hank respectively.

"I notified everyone," Hank said, panting slightly as he knelt down next to Remy. "They should all be here within the hour. Professor Xavier and Ororo may be a little bit longer though."

"Dat's not gon' be 'nuff time," was Remy's harsh reply.

"We should collect the evidence and take it inside. It won't do us any justice to stay out here in the cold," the blue doctor propounded. He rested a hand on Remy's arm and the young man allowed Hank to help him up.

"Remy… your hands." Sarah pointed to Remy's now glowing hands. He was still holding the journal. He instantly dropped it - Rogue would hate him forever if he destroyed it. All her journals were priceless to her, and she would probably be quite angry with him if she knew he'd read it. _What de hell am I talkin' 'bout. She's in fuckin' danger an' I'm worried 'bout her damn journals!_ Regardless, the book fell into the snow and Remy shoved his hands into his pockets, pulling out a playing card from each one. Within moments, both had exploded, dangerously close to Remy as he hadn't had time to throw them. Hank had recoiled from him and Sarah shrieked. His hands still burned with pain, even though he had released a substantial amount of energy.

A motorcycle was heard pulling up to the front. Then a roar echoed into the dark winter night. "Logan," Remy breathed.

"Where the fuck is he!" Logan growled as he rushed over to them. His nose was sniffing wildly, and he almost went past the trio onto the woods, but Hank laid a hand on the shorter man's arm.

"We cannot start a wild goose chase, Logan. Calm down. Once we get a more secure team together, then we can hunt him down." Sarah had told Hank everything she could in the inane babble she was crying. He heard the words "Victor" and "Rogue" quite clearly, however and started a phone chain. Jean and Scott were coming home from their date, thankfully Nathan was taking a nap, and the teenagers of the institute would be home at any time.

"What happened, bub?" This time it came out softer. Logan had gotten a very good look at Remy and could tell the Cajun was obviously upset. Ranting and roaring would get him nowhere.

"He took her. An' I wasn' here t' stop him."

Logan had gotten a nice whiff of the earlier arousal coming off both the present teens but didn't hold it against Remy. How could he have possibly known about the oncoming of her capture? Besides, Logan blamed himself. He said Creed would never touch her again – and now look what happened.

"_Listen ta me, kid. While yer livin' under the same roof with me, I can assure ya that Creed – or anyone – ain't ever gonna touch you like that again."_

"_Thank you." She didn't look at him, ashamed to have tears stinging her eyes. Remy rubbed her shoulder softly._

_Logan_ _watched Remy interact with her. "Me an' the Cajun, then."_

_Remy looked up. "Quoi?"_

"_You an' me._ _We're now her protectors, got that?"_

"_Homme, I've held dat position f'r four days now. Y' jus' joinin' de club."_

Remy took another card out of his pocket and charged it, slower this time. His powers were back to being in tune with his emotions and to say the least, it was becoming dangerous. He had the chance to throw it a distance instead of it blowing up in his face.

Hank, after calming down Logan and a few other students who had shown up, bent down to pick up the remnants of the destroyed walkie-talkie. Remy watched Hank's blue hand envelope the toy and his heart crumbled. He could practically feel the coldness of the snow as every little piece of his being flittered to the ground. He sucked in the brisk air and stomped ahead of everyone into the house. Sarah took a step towards him to follow, but Paige put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head slightly. The Kentuckian had watched her two fellow southerners grow up and she'd seen Remy's mannerisms. When he went off sulking, you left him alone.

He stomped inside, his hands flexing in and out of fists in an attempt to keep his power from being painful. His head was banging with everyone's emotions, even though they were still outside. Anger, confusion, fear, regret, sadness, pity. He needed release. He needed Rogue back.

BAMF!

Remy lifted his head to the sound. It'd been two weeks since he'd heard it. "Kurt?"

He was breathing hard. Remy couldn't see him. He scrutinized the shadows and found the bottomless golden eyes of Kurt. They were flaming. Kurt fell out of the shadows to the ground.

"Kurt!" Remy ran over to him. "What happened?"

"I teleported from school. Took ten times." His breath was labored.

"Merde, y' used t' only four times!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Kurt snapped, pushing his weight onto his hands and knees, still panting. "I'm going to have a major headache," he murmured.

"C'mon," Remy said, hoisting Kurt's body into his arms. He deposited him onto the couch.

"Any sign of her yet?"

"Non, no body's left yet."

"Why the hell not! My baby sister has been kidnapped by a fucking lunatic!"

Remy was taken aback. Kurt never used language like that. _Release_. "Calm down, mon ami." He felt like such a hypocrite.

"Calm down? I can't help but feel this way!" His eyes fell shut as he moaned his sister's given name. It sounded so foreign to Remy – he, himself, had never called her that ever nor had he heard it in four years. Kurt's eyes snapped back open. "Mom needs to know."

Remy nodded. As much as he hated the woman, she needed to know her only daughter was in danger. "I'll get de portable phone f'r y'. Stay here."

"No problem," Kurt muttered. Remy started to walk to the kitchen. "Be careful," Kurt suggested. He'd seen Remy's eyes and hands flare up but didn't say a word. Remy understood and nodded mutely as he walked away.

"If you can hear me… help." A tear splashed onto the cold stone floor. It echoed forever.

"It says it's been disconnected," Kurt said, staring unbelievingly at the phone.

"Maybe y' typed it wrong."

Kurt nodded. "Maybe." He clicked the phone off and then hit 'on' again. He punched the numbers in again, slower this time. Remy was amazed at how his three fingers worked the buttons. "I know I hit them right!" He gave Remy the phone and put it up to his ear. Sure enough, that damn automated recording rang in place of Raven's voice.

"Would she have told y' if she moved?"

"Of course, she would have! Why do I get a horrible feeling about this?"

"It could be not'in'… Maybe dey had a little earthquake an' de phone lines were knocked out? It is California after all."

"I don't know… you're probably right though," Kurt relented, sighing. He took a sip of the water Remy brought in for him.

Remy glanced back towards the front door. "D'ya t'ink we c'n go get her now?" He asked softly.

"I think Hank would want to wait until the heavy hitters got here." By heavy hitters, he meant Jean, Scott, Betsy, Angel and hopefully Emma and Sean. Emma had married a young man named Shinobi Shaw. His father owned the ruthless Hellfire Club, a country club that loved money and power – the two things Emma had craved since she was a little girl. Sean had taken a holiday over in Scotland for some time and met a cute geneticist named Moira. Details were sketchy on whether he'd proposed or not, but their relationship was close. Regardless, both had been away from the institute for a prolonged amount of time, so who knew if they would be interested in helping, or if they would make it in any orderly time.

"Remy?" Jean called as she hurried through the front door. Scott and Logan could be heard arguing loudly outside.

"We're ov'r here, Jeannie."

Jean whipped her heard towards Remy and Kurt on the couch, her hair flailing behind her in a blanket of golden red. "Oh, God, Remy." She ran over to him and enveloped him into a maternal hug. Remy wasn't as close with Jean as Rogue was, but it was still comforting to be held by someone. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here. I wish I could've been here," she murmured into his hair. She let go of Remy for a moment and repeated the motion with Kurt. She was sincerely upset. Remy felt her anguish coming off in undulating waves.

"_It was nice talkin' ta ya, Jean," she said, mustering up a sweet smile. Talking to Jean had made her think about everything. She couldn't decide whether that had been a good thing or not._

_In return, Jean smiled in a way that made her eyes twinkle. "You, too, sweetie."_

_Rogue's expression turned genuine. "You're definitely gonna make yoah kid happy," she said before following her brother and the others._

_Jean's smile wavered as tears came to her eyes. At that moment she promised herself that she would try to be the best motherly figure she could for the young girl._

"None of us could've known," Remy whispered as he stood up. His heart wept with Jean's. He concentrated on the loud voices outside.

"Remy, don't go there," Jean warned as she cradled Kurt's head. He was crying. Remy felt so weary after talking to him. Kurt's tiredness was radiating and seeping through Remy's shields.

He ignored her and kept walking. Jean knew what was going to happen before she had come inside to console the two males. And Remy wasn't going to be happy with what he saw. He had reached the door when Logan was revving up his bike. It took him a moment to realize that Logan was leaving after the heated argument with Scott. "What de hell?" Remy's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement as he watched Logan speed off. He was confused. It was better than realizing how angry he was. "De bastard left wit'out me!"

The others finally took note of Remy standing in the doorway. Scott was the first to move when Remy started taking long strides in the direction of Logan's bike. "No, Remy!"

Remy sprinted blindly towards the motorcycle, his anger boiling over. "How could he leave like dat!" Scott somehow collided with Remy and knocked him down onto the soft snow. "Lemme up!"

"No, Remy. You need to keep a clear head."

"How c'n I!" He took a deep breath nonetheless. "… Dat girl is m'life." The second sentence came out softer.

"I know, Remy. And I know I must sound like a total bastard for asking you to do such an absurd thing. But – running off like Logan will not get you anywhere." He rolled off of Remy then and stood up. He extended a hand towards him.

Remy accepted it and allowed Scott to pull him up. He unknowingly charged Scott's leather glove in the process. Remy's eyes blared red as he realized what he'd done. "Hold still," he counseled. Quickly, he stripped the glove off and tossed it. A year or so ago, he'd learned a technique in which he could absorb the kinetic energy back into himself, but it required release later on so as not to build up inside him. That was no good at that moment. He needed release now.

Rogue wiped her face when her tears subsided. She wasn't shackled by any means so the action was fairly easy to do. She blinked several times to get a feel for the dark again. She wished for Remy's light sensitive eyes at that moment so she could see where the hell she was.

She'd never been able to absorb and bring up physical manifestations, such as Remy's demonic eyes, Kurt's blue fur, Lorna's green hair, etc. It did make her think though. _Ah've_ _absorbed half the institute… Ah can send a distress call with someone's telepathy!_

She closed her eyes, enveloping herself and her mind in complete darkness (as if she hadn't been before). She felt fatigue from before as her hand traveled up to where Victor had injected her with the serum that had knocked her out. A minute bump had taken residence on her neck.

_Concentrate_, a voice told her in the back of her head. It sounded like her voice, but softer than the usual pitch she spoke with, more eerie as well.

She nodded mutely, unconditionally agreeing with the voice. She took a deep breath, centering all her power in her head. Except… it wasn't there. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Once again, she focused all her power on opening the 'closet' in which she hid the powers of others. She pulled and pulled on the door – but it wouldn't budge. A sob escaped her throat with the effort she was exerting. Nothing.

"Oh, no," she whispered. She couldn't even feel anyone's memories but her own. She tried focusing on the last four years of her life, but no matter how hard she tried not to, her thoughts drifted to those of almost ten years ago.

"Bethie? Ya awake?"

She had been. She could feel the oncoming of the scheduled thunderstorm and they'd always scared her. She wouldn't have minded the comfort, but her stepfather had been acting strange since her and Raven moved in a week before. Instead, she just kept her mouth shut and feigned sleep. She was hoping he was just checking on her – her fear of thunderstorms was widely known – and that he would leave, convinced she was asleep.

No such luck. "Bethie… I know you're not sleepin'…" He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. She always left the door open so her mother could hear her in case she was having a bad dream. _The door was shut – the door shut – he shut the door._

She clutched her pink angel bear to her chest, her eyes wide open now. "Ah'm okay, Daddy," she whispered.

"Are ya sure? Your momma told me about how storms scare ya."

"Ah'll be all raht." She curled herself up into the tightest ball she could without being obvious. "Momma says Ah have nothin' ta be scared of so Ah should try ta sleep on mah own."

He silently slipped over to her bed, blonde hair draped over his impossible brown eyes. He leaned down till he was practically nose to nose with her. "You don't wanna be by yerself though, do ya?" His breath came out hot, tinted with negative vibes and the putrid scent of alcohol that sent chills up and down her spine.

Before she could fine the words to object, he had climbed into the small bed behind her, pulling her to his chest. It could've been a comforting gesture except for the warning in her gut. Every defense alarm went off in her head as she felt something hard press into the back of her thighs. Her mind screamed when his hand snaked up her nightshirt and pinched her tiny, underdeveloped nipple. If she had been older, her body more mature, and if the arms around her had been those of a lover, she would have felt inviting thrills. Instead, she felt incredible discomfort. At the moment he touched her not so intimately, her stomach convulsed and her bladder released any sort of fluid it may have had inside.

In simple words, Victor was furious. He sat up in bed, a scowl etched on his face. He grabbed her right arm forcefully and smacked her across the face with his free hand. "Don't you **ever** do that again." He stood up and walked abruptly out of the room.

She couldn't move – she couldn't cry. Her left hand switched between rubbing her cheek and cradling her quickly bruising arm. She spent the night awake, staring out the ajar door. What had just happened?

The room had begun to fill with the overwhelming stench of urine by the time the sun had risen. Only then did she cry. She felt disgusting – and it wasn't just because of the urine clinging to her legs.

"Bethany?" Raven pushed open the door, her natural blue skin blotchy and pale. "You okay, honey?"

She blinked at her mother, trying her best not to let her tears show. Victor's stern figure appeared in the hallway behind her mother. His hollow brown eyes glared at her, daring her to even peep. "Ah'm fine."

Raven nodded, her nose wrinkled when the stench finally smacked her in the face. "Beth? What happened?"

Her eyes flicked to Victor, then to her mother. "One of the thunderbolts really scared me," she whispered, ashamed.

Raven's eyes glanced back to Victor for her daughter to see. The younger girl nodded so slight she wasn't sure her mother had caught it. "We should get you cleaned up. Your brother's flying in today."

The mention of Kurt brightened her day. Raven nodded to Victor as she stepped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. "Ah'm sorry Ah did this, Momma."

Raven helped her pull her nightshirt off her head. As she deposited it on the floor, she caught a glimpse of the dark bruises on her young daughter's right arm. Biting back tears and swallowing the bile that had risen in her throat, she pulled the girl into a hug. "Everything's going to be fine, Bethany. Just fine."

_Ah can't believe Ah believed her._

Rogue felt nameless in the flashback. Sure, Victor and her mother referred to her by name, but since that moment in her bed, she wasn't a little girl – she was a thing. It. Neutral. Things aren't defined, they don't have names. As Rogue, she had a purpose – a meaning. Remy gave her meaning. He made her feel human again.

"What if Ah never see him again?" She murmured idly to herself.

_Don't say that_, hissed the same voice as before. _You can't give in. You will be free again._

Rogue wanted to believe the voice, but she couldn't help but feel so lost… so alone. She thought she had been free before, but maybe she was just on a leash for four years and now she'd been dragged back. She bit her lip until it bled to keep herself from crying over the thought.

"Why haven't we left yet?" Kurt asked as Jean helped him outside.

Remy stood silently, still staring blankly at the path that led to the gates. He shrugged. He felt as if he'd been frozen in time – he had stopped thinking, didn't move, nothing. He concentrated on his breathing. It was the only thing keeping him sane. His emotions, to Jean, were boiling in a red cloud above his head. His aura was burning.

"Remy?" She came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She almost recoiled from the burn. Concerned, she sent forth a psychic probe, just to see if he'd let open his shields. Otherwise, she couldn't explain why so much of his feelings had been slamming into her. To her surprise, his shields were in the process of crumbling. His emotions and thoughts were leaking out through the cracks and those emotions of the others were colliding and smacking into his and finding their way behind the 'stone walls.'

He shuttered under her touch. It reminded her of how Rogue would react if someone would reach out for her from behind. Sometimes she would completely jerk out of reach of the person, and other times she would just slightly recoil from the hand in order to see who was behind her.

He turned to glare at her, but once he realized it was Jean, his eyes relaxed. They still glowed, however. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't worry about it." Her hand gently massaged his shoulder. If it affected him at all in the ways of calming his nerves, he didn't show it visibly. "Why don't you come inside? We're going to start strategizing in a minute or so."

"Why do dat? He could've hurt her by now."

"I know, Remy. Rogue is a strong girl though. She's been working with her powers for as long as you. She would know what to do in the case of an emergency."

"Somehow I don' t'ink dat's completely right. I can' help but t'ink she's feelin' hopeless an' alone."

Jean pursed her lips. "She has more will than that. I thought you would have had more faith in her than that."

"I do. More den y' would believe. Y' didn't see her when I found her all dat time ago, dough. She was so broken – if she had been older an' had de means to, I'm sure she would've killed herself." Coolly, he reached for a card in his pocket and began fumbling with it. He'd taught himself a trick of flicking it between his fingers without dropping it. It was very therapeutic. He'd tried teaching it to Rogue once but was less than successful. She'd refused to take off her gloves because she didn't want to hurt Remy and the card just didn't want to slide right between her clothed fingers.

The thought brought a smile to his face. Even though she knew she wouldn't be able to get it, she kept trying just to make him proud. She'd spent so much of her time with him making sure he was proud of her. She didn't need to prove anything to him though. It was enough that she grew out of her shell she first had when they moved to the institute.

He hadn't spent enough time impressing her. It was always what she could do for him. Sure, he may have given her a lifelong friend when they met in that alleyway, but she had done the same for him. Who knows where he would've been at that exact moment without her. Would he have even been alive? He closed his eyes for a minute. He pushed his confused thoughts of more-than-friendship with Rogue out of his head and focused on the task at hand. Weighing the options in his head, he knew what had to be done.

"Give me another moment," he told Jean. "I jus' wanna get some more air."

"Okay, Remy." She smiled and lifted her hand off his shoulder. She turned to Kurt, who was leaning against the front door. "You want to come back in?"

Remy was facing him as well, though Jean couldn't see him as her back was turned to him. Remy shook his head to Kurt, his red eyes filled with a growing plan.

"I think I'll stay out here with Remy. Seeing everyone inside is making me uncomfortable," he responded casually, though his eyes glanced to Remy cautiously. _What is he planning?_

Jean's smile didn't falter in the least. _She oblivious_, thought Remy happily. He knew his walls were falling down slowly. He'd done his best to hide his thoughts at that moment, and apparently it had worked.

"I'll see you guys inside then. Nathan needs to be checked on, I'm guessing." With another warming smile, she walked past Kurt and out of their sight.

Once the door shut, Kurt furrowed his dark blue eyebrows at Remy. "What are you thinking?"

"We're gettin' out of here. I'm not waitin' f'r dem t' come t' some decision dat may come twenty minutes t' two hours from now." Kurt was silent for a moment, his golden eyes shifting between Remy and the institute doors. "Are y' feelin' better now?"

"I am." With one final look to the mansion, he began walking towards Remy. "Let's get out of here before they realize we've left." Remy grinned from ear to ear. "Wait, how are we going to find her?"

Remy's burning gaze glanced to Sarah's abandoned Jeep by the front steps. "All de mansion cars are equipped wit' radios, right? We'll be able t' find Logan in case he's found somet'in'."

It was Kurt's turn to grin. "Let's go get my sister back." Within moments, they'd run down to the Jeep and were strapped in, ready to go.

TBC…


	21. Freedom Shouldn't Cost This Much

Street Livin' 

Chapter 21

Remy and Kurt had just made it past the front gates when the radio started beeping. "Merde," Remy mumbled.

"I'll get it. Ten dollars says it's Scott."

"I ain' bettin' on dat."

Kurt smirked and pushed the button that would allow the feed to come through. "Kurt here."

"Kurt?" Instead, Hank's voice came through. Kurt side-glanced Remy, smiling wider. "Don't tell me you just left on your own with no sort of stratagem."

"Dat's what we did, Henri," Remy answered.

"I'm not surprised that I do not hear remorse in your voice."

Remy was ready to retort, but Kurt butt in. "You couldn't have expected us to sit around while Rogue is in danger."

"I know, Kurt. And I feel terrible… I don't want you to think of me – or any of us – as the 'bad guys', but you know running in without any sort of plan is just short of suicide."

Remy was not convinced. "T'anks f'r havin' faith in us, homme." He reached over and promptly clicked off the frequency.

"Remy!" Kurt exclaimed. "He was trying to be nice."

"It don' matter. Dis be 'bout Rogue an' Rogue only." His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were turning white. "If I don' make it out, I don' care – long as she's okay."

Kurt stared at Remy's profile for a moment, stunned. "Did you just say you'd die for her?"

Remy blinked, realizing his wording. "Maybe I did."

"Do you mean it?"

Remy shrugged. "I know she's y' sister, but… how do I say dis…"

Kurt laughed. "You _are_ in love with her, aren't you?"

"Quoi?" Remy almost slammed on the brake from hearing Kurt's words. "Dey got t' y' too, didn' dey?"

"Who is 'they'? I'm basing this off my own observations. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

The Cajun sighed, relaxing his grip on the wheel. "Ev'rybody knows dis but me."

"I think you're afraid to admit that you actually care that much for someone." Remy was about to say something but Kurt put his hand up. "Hold on, I'm not saying that you never cared for anyone, but Rogue was the one who showed you how to live again. She told me what kind of a childhood you had… I would ask her about Victor and if there was anything that I could do for her, but she insisted that you had a far worse childhood than her."

"She's full o' shit."

"I know. No offense or anything."

"None taken. My childhood was a playground compared t' hers."

"I wouldn't go that far from what she told me, but I won't get into it."

"Fair 'nuff."

"Anyway, so I'm listening to her all this time and I realize that she really admires you… sometimes I felt like she loved you more than me."

"Y' know dat's not true."

Kurt sighed. "I know… but I couldn't help but feel that, you know?"

"Oui. So… how does dis attribute t' me bein' in love wit' her?"

"Going back to her… she'd said that when she touched you, and it was often since you allowed it during training sessions and all, that every little bit made her feel like she was on the same level as you. No age barriers, nothing. Just you and her. I think you began to feel the same way. How often does the thought of Rogue being three years younger than you spark up in your head?"

"It has more often lately…"

"I mean in the last year or so, not the last twenty-four hours."

Remy thought about it. He and Rogue just chilled. They would talk, play card games, watch movies, just be together. Except for a few personality traits, they were the complete same – besides the obvious male/female factor. "I could say never, but dat would be pushin' it jus' by a li'l bit."

Kurt smiled. "See?"

"Dat doesn' mean I'm in love wit' her."

"If you want to deny it, fine. I'm not saying that you want to touch her in dirty, sexual ways, because that's goes completely against everything you two have built up. But there's more than friendship there."

Remy smirked. "It would be dirty t' y', wouldn' it?"

"She _is_ my sister, Remy. I haven't forgotten that. I just want her to be happy though."

"Heh, de irony of dat statement…"

Kurt laughed bitterly himself. "I know what you're thinking. I'm having trouble convincing myself that this is going to be all done and okay, regardless of what'll happen next with everything. Rogue may have another hurdle to jump again."

"But me an' y'll get her t'rough dis."

"We will." After that, nothing was left to be said, so the duo drove in silence. While Remy drove aimlessly, hoping he was headed in the right direction, Kurt attempted communication with Logan. Nothing was coming off his end though.

After about five minutes of ear piercing silent driving, Kurt admitted "This is starting to be a really dumb idea." Remy didn't say a word. "Do you have any sort of plan for when we find them?"

Remy shrugged. "I be makin' dis up as I go."

"That's really going to help Rogue," Kurt scoffed.

"An' you have a brilliant plan?"

"You're the one who pulled me away from the institute."

"I'm de one wit' a million emotions flowin' t'rough m'head. I needed t' get de hell out o' dere. I can' think like dat. Besides, y' followed me, so don' start givin' me dis 'second t'oughts' shit."

Kurt shivered. He had rolled the window down so the brisk air could wake him up. It had finally gotten through his fur and chilled him completely. "I'm sorry."

"Don' be. I know y' not t'inkin' right because o' alla dis. I know I'm not eit'er."

"Is that what empathy is really like? Having everyone's feelings meshing together in your head?"

"It was never like dis because I had shields dat Rogue helped me make. F'r some reason, dey're breakin' now. I t'ink I may be too overwhelmed t' keep 'em up on m'own."

"That makes sense… do you think you'll be able to fix them later on?"

"Hopefully. I don' like dis at all. Before it didn' seem too bad, so maybe I developed ov'r de years an' didn' realize it because of de shields."

Kurt nodded. "It can happen. Things just sneak up like that on everyone these -"

The radio beeped. Remy glanced at it quizzically as Kurt leaned in to turn it on. "Kurt he-"

"Elf." It was Logan. "You just passed me." Remy slammed on the brakes. He said a silent 'thank you' to whoever was listening for the invention of seatbelts.

"Where are you?" Kurt asked eagerly.

"About a half mile back from where you are now. Go figure, I traced him ta some dumped out office building."

Kurt glanced outside and found that he was staring at some industrialized suburban part of the area instead of the constant fields that surrounded Xavier Institute. "We'll be there in a few minutes. Should we call the others?"

"I'll get in contact with them. Just meet me here. I'm about a block away from the building so the bastard can't sense me."

"Are you closer to us or beyond the building?" Kurt asked.

"Luckily I'm past the place. He would probably realize vehicles goin' by multiple times."

"Okay, then."

"Just turn 'round, park _two_ blocks away an' get here yer way. Gumbo there with ya?"

"I be here, Logan."

"… Good. Sorry 'bout runnin' out on ya like that. I knew you were gonna be pissed."

"Shit happens, homme. Long as we get her back safe an' sound."

"That's what I wanna hear, bub." Remy could imagine Logan with a feral grin plastered on his face on the other end. "I'll see you guys in a few." He then cut the frequency off.

A small smile came to Remy's face. They had her. She was within reach – but were they too late?

As he turned the jeep around, he thought back to Logan's description of the building – an abandoned office building. Just like his old home in New Orleans. Things started clicking in his head. This whole abduction wasn't just to get back at Rogue for embarrassing Victor and leaving him without an object to expel his dirty actions on. The building was chosen to get Remy back; to make Remy think about burning Victor alive – practically killing him if he hadn't had the healing factor.

Remy's mind cranked out more ideas. This was war against Logan, too. Whatever past he and Victor had had, Victor knew what Logan was like: territorial and overly protective. He was hitting Logan where it hurt most – his heart.

As they drove closer to their parking place, Remy's train of thought halted abruptly. What about Raven? There was only a slight chance that Victor would let her get away with divorcing him. When the thought actually took the verbal sense in his mind, the more he feared for her. She wasn't home when Kurt called, and Irene didn't even pick up the phone.

Remy glanced to Kurt, who seemed to be gearing himself up for teleportation. He was basically meditating in his seat right then. Remy wouldn't dare tell Kurt that his mother may be in danger. Knowing Rogue wasn't safe was driving him to the edge of his sanity as it was. If something did happen to Raven, Kurt's whole family would be gone. His anchor to the world would be demolished. Remy didn't even want to think what Kurt would be like if Rogue and his mother ceased to exist.

"Park here," Kurt suggested, pointing to an open spot on the street.

Remy's eyes shifted over to Kurt uneasily. "Y' ready f' dis, mon ami?"

"Hardly, but ya know it's gotta be done."

"Oui. Let's go." Remy put the car keys in his pocket and held his hand out to Kurt. With a neutral face, Kurt took Remy's hand and concentrated on Logan's position.

They were lost in a cloud of pink smoke for a split second and when they materialized, Logan was glaring at them. "What?" Remy asked.

Logan put a finger up to his lips. "Shh. I have the feelin' he's more advanced… it took me too long to track him. His scent was too faint – almost changed."

"Do y' t'ink he's had help?"

"… Maybe. I didn't smell anyone else with him today, though." At that thought, he involuntarily sniffed the air.

"You c'n sense people from dis far 'way?"

"No. An' that's the point. I didn't want to be close enough so he could sense me. By the way, I called the others. They should be here in minutes."

Remy nodded. "Okay… so what now?"

"Remember in the Danger Room how we'd always do those search and rescue procedures?"

"Oui."

"Time fer real life application."

Rogue had tried repeatedly to open her shields, 'closet', anything – all with no success.

After so much time, she became anxious and restless. _Why would he kidnap me just ta throw me in a room foh hours half naked?_

She found herself standing up, stretching her arms above her head to get the kinks out of her system. The room felt larger once she stood up, but not by much. By then, her eyes had adjusted to the room's darkness. Some shadows stood more prominent than others. The room smelled wet… as if she were in a basement or something. She tapped her foot. The ground was definitely hard and cold and made of some sort of stone – completely flat with scattered pebbles here and there.

She took a tiny step forward with her arms extended. She stroked the empty air ahead of her. Convinced she wasn't about to hit herself on anything dangling or sitting in front of her, she took a few more cautious steps. She kept walking in baby small steps until her fingertip brushed against the stucco stone in front of her. It was bumpy, cold… Rogue surprisingly loved it.

She'd lived the last four years behind the barriers of cloth. She never realized how much she missed touch. Even as the rugged bits of rock along the wall tore into her skin and created tiny scratches on her fingertips and palms, she reveled in the sensation.

When the pain became too much, she pulled away. Despite it all, she had a smile on her face. She couldn't see her hand in front of her face to see the wounds, so instead she smiled. Inside it all, she now had hope. She would get past this just so she could experience touch like this again.

She never thought to experiment with touch. She knew if she stayed behind the fabric, everyone would be fine. Even when she was alone, the gloves stayed on. She never took her socks off either, even though she hated the feeling of the socks against her bed sheets when she was sleeping, but she must always be safe.

Now she missed her socks. Her feet were slowly freezing from the outside in. It was almost like a thick version of liquid nitrogen had been injected into her big toe and was slowly seeping its way into her entire foot, like molasses over biscuits.

_Next priority… warmth_. She quickly ran a hand through her hair without even realizing it. "Think, gal, think," she whispered. "How am Ah supposed ta find somethin' warm if Ah can't see?" It was a time like this when she actually wished Scott was around. She watched him do training sessions completely in the dark with some of the older, more experienced students. It helped develop all their other senses in order to find the goal of the exercise. "You never know when something as valuable as sight could be gone and you're left with nothing," he would say. Rogue imagined he'd trained his own senses to be alert in case he was ever without his ruby-quartz glasses.

Rogue suddenly stopped thinking. Footsteps were coming… above her. She looked towards the ceiling, fear in her eyes and heat. Loud footsteps. Footsteps that were all too familiar.

Light flooded into the room. Rogue flipped around and saw a lit up stairwell. The light was blinding as it was since she'd been in darkness for who knows how long. _He's coming!_ Her mind screamed. Luckily, only a tiny amount of light had come in, as the door at the top of the stairs was still shut. Still, Rogue's eyes needed a moment to adjust and take in the gravity of the situation.

She quickly scrambled to underneath the stairs. If Victor were to open the door then and come down into the basement, she would be hidden for the time being. Her mind stung with the thought of his enhanced senses – she was too close to the steps, he would find her in no time. Hiding was futile.

Suddenly, the door swung open, filling the room with even more light, which prickled against Rogue's eyes. She had to blink several times before she could see again. Once she had gotten over the hurdle of seeing, she began to listen. She heard crying, moaning. Her flow of thoughts stopped. _Momma?_ _No, that couldn't be her. She's safe in California_ _with Auntie Ir-_

"Shut up, bitch, or I'll finish ya off now!" Victor's roar echoed through Rogue's ears and it took every part of her conscious to not cry out. It was up until that point she was hoping this was some sick, sadistic nightmare her mind had decided to torment her with. She would've been able to just wake up and trek to Remy's room like she used to and everything would be fine. Hearing Victor's voice so loud and so coarse made everything a reality. She was caught.

Although she couldn't see if from her position, Victor's silhouette loomed at the top of the stairs. The grin on his face couldn't be seen, nor could the blood on his fingertips. Rogue's senses were on fire. She felt her teeth dig into her lip again as she opened the wound she'd created minutes before to keep herself from breathing loudly. She acutely heard him shift his weight above her, as if he were trying to decide when to come down or if he was just going to taunt her by staying at the top of the stairs. Her nose flooded with the unpleasant smell of the basement – the mold, the dust, everything. She'd just begun to taste her own blood again when Victor took a step down.

"Ya ready fer me, Bethie?" Victor chuckled ominously. He casually sniffed the air. "Is that blood I smell, baby?"

"…victor… don't do this…" Rogue heard her mother faintly. The walls crashed down. Rogue sobbed once, but it loud enough for Victor to laugh triumphantly.

"She's mine, Rave. Ain't nothin' ya can do about it now." He took two more steps down, taunting Rogue with the slowness and noise of each one.

Please, someone, anyone, if ya can hear me, please, please, please, help. Don't let him take me. Please, please, please, please. Ah'm so scared. Ah don't have mah powers an' he's goin' ta kill me. Ah know it. He's gonna kill Momma an' Ah'm gonna die alone. Please, please, please, please –

Please.

Remy directed his head towards the building when the single word stuck out in his thoughts. It wasn't his voice. It was soft, pleading… it was Rogue's.

"Gumbo, what's the hold up?" Logan harshly whispered from ahead. They had silently skulked to the house uneventfully until that moment.

"I heard her. She's askin' f'help," Remy murmured in return, his voice lost and his gaze pointed at the office building.

"I heard it, too," Kurt said softly, a mixture of hope and melancholy in his voice. He laid a hand on Remy's shoulder. "We have to get there now. If we distract him, it may put her out of danger."

Logan nodded in agreement. "If yer sayin' she's in yer heads, that may be the best way to go. Elf, you wanna do the honors?" He held his hand out to the blue mutant.

"Where should I take us?"

"Somewhere on the second level. We can make some noise and hopefully get his mind off of Rogue for the moment."

"I'm goin' after Rogue." It wasn't a request on Remy's part.

Kurt glared at him for a moment, but then his eyes softened. He was about to say the same thing. Rogue was his sister after all. It was irrational to fight over something like that though. There was no telling whether Victor had help so two would be needed to fight. Sending one person to search for Rogue would be logical. Kurt just wished it were him. Remy didn't sound like he would back down from his statement at all. "Fine. We'll do what we can about taking Victor out."

"Let's go," Logan growled impatiently. "I'm ready to take that fucker out."

With the blink of Kurt's eyes and a single thought, they were gone.

They appeared again, landing loudly against the flimsy wooden floor. There was a reason this place was abandoned. Remy rolled away from them to against the wall. Kurt and Logan spread out in the same manner. The floor sounded like it was ready to break.

"Be careful, mes frères."

"You too, Remy," Kurt said, nodding as a sign of trust and honor. He was putting his sister's life in Remy's hands, and he didn't have a single doubt that Remy would fail. Logan motioned in the same manner, and Remy took off.

It was useless to tiptoe since the floor creaked with every ounce of weight put on it. His hand had snaked its way into his pocket, retrieving three cards. Each one was positioned as he'd practiced so many times: One between his thumb and index finger, another between his index finger and middle, the last in between his middle finger and ring finger. With a single thought, he could charge it with his power. He was afraid to though. What if he were to blast something and bring the whole place down? Not only taking out Rogue and himself, but Kurt and Logan as well.

Regardless of his second thoughts, he kept the cards poised in his hand, ready to charge and throw at a moment's notice. He made it to the stairs and cautiously took each step down. As he made it down to the second to last, he heard a scuffle above him. With his concentration lost, he stumbled down the final stair. "Merde!" he hissed when his foot lodged into the floor beneath him. He could feel the broken wood spear through his jeans. A few splinters made their way into his ankle as well.

Logan roared from the second floor, further drawing Remy's attention away from his ankle. He heard tumbling from one side of the ceiling, and then more from the other side. Both Kurt and Logan were being attacked. Until they took their opponents down, it was Remy against Victor.

With a surge of energy, he tugged his leg out of the wood with a strangled yell. He didn't waste a single moment on tending to any wounds he may have received from the fall. He had dropped his cards when he stumbled, so he pulled out another batch in the same manner. His eyes began to blaze as he swallowed all his power into his center. _Save it, Remy, save it._

Rogue heard the noise from above and was distracted from Victor. Apparently his attention was diverted from her as well. "What the hell was that!" Rogue heard her mother laugh faintly.

"You… declared war… on Xavier's people by bringing… her here… Victor." She sounded stronger than she had a few minutes before.

Victor stepped away from the stairway and stomped over to her. Rogue jumped out of her hiding spot and ran to the foot of the stairs. Raven cried out as Victor grabbed her by the hair. "Shut up, bitch. Did you honestly think that I came here by myself! I know Xavier's people – I know Logan. The pussy can't fight on his own. I can smell him and others… Bethie's little Cajun bitch is here, same with your dickless son."

"Don't you talk about my son that way!" Raven screamed, thrashing out violently with a rush of vitality.

Rogue heard a sickening thump and Raven was silent except for a near silent moan. "And don't you talk to _me_ that way." Rogue quietly made her way up the steps without realizing it. He was hurting her mother. Instinct took control of her body.

She heard him sniff the air. "Fresh meat…" he grinned, licking his lips. "I'll be back to finish this later, woman." Raven gave no reply. He then stood up and stomped away.

"Momma?" Rogue shakily called up the steps. She took a few more. "Momma? Are ya okay?" She prayed as she made it to the top, afraid of what she'd see. She peeked around the bend and couldn't help the cry that erupted from her throat.

She ran over and knelt next to her mother, who was lying sprawled out face down. With a quick glance over, Rogue saw blood pooling down next to Raven's abdomen. "Momma, come on. Talk ta me please!" She sat by helpless, not wanting to hurt her mother by touching her.

"B-bethany?"

"Momma, it's me! Can ya look at me?"

"… he just bashed my head into the floor, baby… I can't move… too painful."

"Ah can't touch ya… Ah don't wanna risk it."

"…Did he inject you… with something?"

Rogue nodded and when she realized her mother didn't see it, she responded, "Yes."

Raven took a deep breath, trying to collect her words. "… then your powers… have been negated."

"How?" Raven managed a shrug. Trusting her mother's words, Rogue reached out to turn her mother over. Her hands shook with each breath that came out of her in quick rasps.

"…beth… calm down, baby."

Rogue nodded again, and carefully took her mother's head into her hands. Delicately, she turned Raven over so she could see her face. Tears freely fell from Rogue's eyes as she saw as beat up her mother was. "Momma… Ah'm so sorry."

"…why?"

"Ah shoulda kept in contact instead o' bein' so stubborn an' we would've known this was comin' an' everyone would be fine an' peachy an' we would all be a family again an' this just isn't how it's supposed ta end!"

Raven's lips trembled as her golden eyes fell upon her daughter for the first time in over four years. "… Bethany… you're so beautiful." Her hand reached up to brush against her daughter's face. Rogue nuzzled into the touch, all her emotions on overload. Touch. Her mother's hand was going cold, but it was so soft – like feathers almost, or rose petals - a complete contrast to that of the wall in the basement. "It's not going… to end… you'll get out of this."

Rogue glanced to her mother's body. "What about you?"

Raven smiled despite it all. "… I'm another story."

"No! You're gonna be fine! You an' Auntie Irene can come live at the institute-"

"… Irene's… dead." Saying those words caused Raven's lips to trembled uncontrollably. Rogue had never seen her mother so vulnerable. She'd seen Raven be beaten up as much as herself, but taken it and hidden her feelings. She chose to drown herself in alcohol and self-abuse instead of evincing her true self.

"Did he kill her?"

Raven bit her lip and nodded ever so slightly. "… I wasn't home… Irene… she would see things… she didn't tell me about this…. I came home… found him," she stopped to gulp. "… licking her blood off his fingers… she couldn't defend herself! Everything is… my fault."

"Shh… don't say that, Momma." Rogue positioned her mother so she could cradle Raven in her arms. She gently petted her mother's bright red hair. "Ah'm goin' ta get you outta here."

"… no use. I'm too weak as… it is." Raven coughed violently. When she was done, blood had found its way to the corner of her lip. It formed a trail of red as it slid down her chin and just didn't stop flowing.

"Momma… no! Please, don't leave me here. Ah don't wanna be alone!"

"… you're never alone."

"But Ah need you!"

"… you," Cough. "… did fine without me," Cough. "…Bethany. You have Kurt… and that Cajun guy…"

"Remy?"

"Yes… him…" Cough. "… to take care of you."

"Don't leave me, Momma. Kurt needs you, too! Don't leave him!"

Raven's face contorted into what could be called a painful smile. "…tell him… I love him."

"No! You're not dyin' an' you'll get ta see him again!"

Raven wasn't listening anymore. "… I love you, Bethany."

"No!" Raven's eyes fluttered shut. Rogue shook her. "It's not yoah time! Please, Momma!" Raven breathed one more time and then she was gone. Rogue wearily shook her again. "Please…"

Something snapped inside Rogue. One second her mind was empty, in the next, the door to her closet had slammed open and her mind was swamped with everything at once. Somehow, Rogue stood up slowly without dropping her mother's prone body. Raven was in her mind. Just barely, but she was there, a watchful shadow. _Show him what you can do, baby. I know you can._ Her voice had joined the eerie one Rogue had heard of herself in the basement. They mingled together, creating one voice, urging her on.

Let the powers take their course. Avenge us.

The voice had opened the door. Rogue clutched her head in pain. Her body twisted and turned from the inside out. She felt her fingers tingle with four different powers, her mind pounded with the power of five psychics. The world around her was in tune with her. She could sense the weather changing outside – the clouds whirling around in an incoherent madness, just like her mind. The metal within a ten-foot range was at her command, and she didn't know what to do with it. Her body felt alive. She was weightless, and then she had so much strength in her.

She looked to her feet. She was off the ground. Suspended. Her hair flew around her, billowing in the wind that she had created in the hallway. _Ah can't handle all of this!_

You can. We will help.

Rogue floated away from her mother. With a fleeting glance, she whispered her apology for everything and looked towards the direction she was flying. _Ah will get him back foh you, Momma._ With a determine scowl set upon her face, she flew. Her hands burned, back ached for the release of wings that she just wouldn't let happen, mind expanding. Victor would be hers to destroy if it was the last thing she did.

Remy didn't even make it two feet before he heard the oncoming of Victor's feet. He had a fraction of a second to look up and glimpse the feral man pouncing on him. Victor growled with delight.

Remy didn't scream when Victor's hand came across his face. Luckily, he had the time to pull away a tiny bit so Victor's claws just grazed his face. They still dug enough to draw blood however. Remy ignored the pain as best as he could. He threw a punch to Victor's stomach, sending a slight and lightning quick kinetic charge to the man's shirt. Victor growled as he felt his shirt spread with the sudden heat, but did nothing to stop it. He left the shirt on and let it explode.

"I told ya that wasn't gonna work," he snarled, giving Remy the chance to watch the burnt skin heal within moments.

"An' I failed t' mention dat I don' give a shit," Remy responded through gritted teeth. The wounds on his face had been opened long enough to let blood drip down. Remy could taste the bitter copper flavor on his lip. He licked it clean.

He had his hands at his sides, cards still in hand. He felt Victor's anger, and it was becoming his own. His breath came out in snorts. It fueled his power. It was exactly what he needed to take Victor down.

_Control… _

_Control… _

_Release._

With an impromptu battle cry, Remy threw the cards at Victor with everything he had. Victor recoiled from the blast reflexively and that was all the time Remy needed to launch himself onto the beastly man.

When Remy landed on Victor, he began an onslaught of attacks. All his Danger Room training was finally worth all the exhaustion, pulled muscles, occasional dislocated joint, everything. He really started to believe that he had Victor caught. Victor made growling and roaring sounds with every hit that connected Remy's fists, legs or knees into him. Kinetic charges were being released sporadically, some Remy knew about, others he didn't. Soon all the potential energy on all inorganic parts of Victor ceased to be. With a deafening blast, Remy was thrown off Victor and into the opposing wall. His head connected with the doorjamb with a sickening thud and he fell to the floor.

_Stay awake_, a voice commanded him. Remy managed to blink to keep himself alert.

_Avenge us_, said another, though it didn't sound like him at all. Rogue! And someone else?

"Rogue?" he murmured weakly. His vision was fuzzy, even more with the light sensitivity. He glanced out the window with achy eyes and saw lightning flashing. It hurt his head. Each flash was a hammer to his optic nerve, causing his head to pound with such ferocity that he wanted to cry. He could see snow and rain falling all as one. It was peculiar and it was all he needed. He could stay awake by focusing on it.

Focus on Victor! The first voice screamed at him. 

"Vic..tor?"

A chuckle. "You called?" Victor's hand suddenly grasped Remy's neck, easily lifting him off the ground. "I'm gonna enjoy takin' you apart." Remy felt all the oxygen inside him catch in his lungs – no air coming in, none going out. What seemed like minutes of dangling helpless from Victor's strong hand was actually seconds. Remy tried wriggling in Victor's hold, but the more he moved, the more the hand around his neck clenched. "That's it, Cajun." Victor ran his thumb underneath Remy's chin, slicing the skin ever so slightly. "I wanna see yer skin blue against those devil eyes." Blood came to the surface of Remy's skin and trickled down his neck and Victor's hand.

_Can' let him take me. Need t' get a hit in…_ Black dots began to appear across Remy's vision. The world hadn't been dark for him in so long. Only when he was asleep was he enveloped in darkness. Seeing the black sprinkled across his view caused him to panic. _What if I died right now? I didn' help Rogue, Kurt an' Logan could be injured… Rogue is still in danger._

At this point, Victor was laughing madly. Remy's eyes fluttered shut as the last bit of oxygen in his body dispersed in his lungs. _I'm sorry, chere,_ he thought dimly.

"_Foh what?"_ The sound of her voice responding in his mind would have normally brought hope to him, but he was battered and not breathing. He couldn't get over the fact that he'd failed her.

"F' not sayin'…" 

"No! Ah'm not losin' two of ya today!" She bellowed. She flew into the room where the first thing she saw was Victor's back. "Get away from him!" She shrieked. In her mind, she felt the fire of Jean's telekinesis burning bright. Victor turned and caught a glimpse of her hair on fire before she violently flung her arm towards the other side of the room. Victor was torn away from Remy and slammed into the opposite wall. With a strangled sob – half growl – Rogue pushed him with the stolen telekinesis until he fell through the wall into the next room. She knew that wasn't the end.

"Ah'll be back foh ya, sugah," she whispered to Remy's prone body. She feared if she got close to him she would see the worst. But then what if she could save him?

As if someone was listening to her prayers, Rogue heard another growl, different than Victor's. Tears sprang to her eyes as she recognized it as Logan's. He began his long overdue fight with Victor while Rogue rushed back to Remy.

"Remy? Please tell me ya can hear me." She knelt down next to him, feeling as hopeless as she did minutes before with her mother. She had her powers this time and she was still scantily clad in her underclothes. She briefly wondered what Victor had drugged her with since her mother did say it had affected her powers, but then realized Remy was really in need of her assistance.

"Chere?" he wheezed.

"Remy! Ah'm here, don't black out on me." _Ah wish Ah could hold him an' say everythin' gonna be all raht, but Ah can't even tell how bad the wound is._

Remy heard every single word she thought. "_Chere?"_

"Remy? How can ya-" 

"I don't know, but never mind. I need y' t' patch up my t'roat."

"How?" 

"_Dere's extra gloves in my pocket."_

Rogue nodded wordlessly and quickly retrieved the gloves from his trenchcoat pocket. She pulled them on without a second's hesitation. Once they were secured on her hands (as Remy's hands were bigger than hers), she reached up to his neck. Blood was slowly flowing out. "It looks good, sugah. Just a scrape."

"I t'ink he screwed up my t'roat internally. It's hard t' breathe."

"Just do the best ya can," she soothed, easily ripping the hem of his shirt off in order to plug up the slice on his neck.

Logan and Victor could be heard throwing insults and each other across the room next door. Rogue feared they would end up in the room she and Remy were in. Her number one priority was keeping Remy safe.

"_De ot'ers are on deir way,"_ Remy murmured. He sounded so weak it made Rogue choke on tears.

"Who? Kurt an' Jean an'-"

"_Kurt's here_."

"Where is he!" _Oh Gawd, where is he? Ah don't want him ta see Momma!_

Once again, Rogue didn't have proper control over her thoughts and Remy heard them loud and clear as if they'd been shouted into his ear. Along with her thoughts came the brief image of the fallen Raven Darkholme, a pool of viscous and sticky blood surrounding her body.

"_Oh no,"_ Remy whispered without realizing it. His hunch had been correct.

Rogue blinked back tears. "You knew he had her? Ah mean, ya thought he would?"

Remy weakly nodded. "_Kurt was upstairs wit' Logan when we first came in,"_ he explained, going back to her initial question.

"Ah need ta get him." She stood up, casting a sparing glance towards Remy. "Ya gonna be okay?" He nodded again, but it was barely a motion on his behalf. "Ah'll be back, Ah promise."

"I know," he whispered, though it sounded like a croak. His lips hardly registered the movement and Rogue couldn't hear him underneath Logan and Victor, but she knew what he'd said. She'd felt it, like a warm breeze across her mind. She leaned down and brushed her hand against his cheek. She felt the first pricks of his stubble through the gloves. She suddenly remembered her actions in the basement. She wanted to feel Remy's skin like she'd down with the rocky wall. It was silly to think, but would his five o'clock shadow be as coarse as the stucco wall?

Remy faintly felt her curiosity as she softly caressed her cheek. With the last bit of physical energy that he had, he nuzzled his face into the open palm of her hand. "_Go p'tite. I'll be fine."_

"_Ah don't wanna leave you."_ A single tear found its way down her face. "_Promise me you'll stay awake."_

"Promise, chere. Go. Get y' brot'er."

She nodded weakly and pulled herself into the air. Momentarily, she forgot about Remy. All the powers in her mind had yet to fade and she was scared. _What's wrong with me? Normally Ah'd be rid of the powers by now._ She flew out of the room and past the one Victor and Logan were fighting in via Ororo's powers. She hoped Logan was okay – but she knew how he fought and knew she had nothing to worry about.

She made it to the landing of the steps, still hovering as if the wooden floors were actually a pool of acid. "Kurt?" No answer.

She sent forth a psychic butterfly, courtesy of Betsy, calling his name. "_C'mon, Kurt._ _Talk ta me."_

"Rogue?" "Kurt! Where are you?" 

"_Upstairs keeping an eye on a pal of mine,"_ he retorted smugly. "_Are you okay? How are we speaking like this? Are the others here?"_

"_No… umm… mah powers are kinda messed up raht now an' Ah'm manifestin' everyone Ah've touched in the last six months that Ah've stored in mah head an' Ah'm just so confused raht now! Remy's hurt, Logan_'_s beatin' up Victor an' Gawd, Kurt, somethin' awful happened!"_ 'Awful' was an understatement but Rogue could find a word strong enough to express her anguish.

"_What?"_ He sounded anxious. Rogue could feel his concern and worry like a thousand needles along her spine.

"_Come ta me an' Ah'll… show ya."_ It took all her will power to keep her mental voice steady. She was just about to show her brother their dead mother.

Within a split second, he was by her side. The first thing he noticed was her lack of apparel. "Christ, Bethany! What happened?" He eagerly pulled off his jacket and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she blushed momentarily before her face turned grave again.

"Beth – Rogue, what is it?"

She lowered herself to the ground only to look up at her brother with such loss in her big green eyes. "Kurt… Gawd, Ah don't know…" She looked away, her lips trembling uncontrollably. Every time she tried to form words a silent sob would follow.

"Rogue, just say it… please." He laid a hand on her shoulder, his solid yellow eyes blinking inquisitively. It was all Rogue could bear. He was the spitting image of their mother. The golden eyes, dark blue skin…

"It's Momma!" She wailed.

Kurt's face fell completely. "M-mom?" It took him a second to gather a coherent sentence. "What happened to her, Rogue?"

She pulled away from his touch, but continued to look him in the eyes. Her face quivered with the sudden wave of tears that racked her frail body and mind. "She's dead, Kurt! She's freakin' dead an' it's all mah fault!" She brought her hands to her face and just openly sobbed. She would have collapsed to the floor if Kurt's hands hadn't found her upper arms.

"What?" He couldn't have heard her right.

"He killed her," she muttered coldly underneath her sobs. "Ah felt her die… mah powers kicked in when she died. She's in mah head, tellin' me ta avenge her – us."

It took a moment for Kurt to rationalize his thoughts. "She's… dead?"

Rogue nodded behind her hands. "Uh-huh," she sniffled. "She told me ta tell you that she loves ya," she added quietly as she lowered her hands after a moment of incredibly awkward silence. "Ah couldn't save her, Kurt. Ah'm so sorry!" Her eyes sparkled with tears and grief.

Kurt's three-fingered hands clenched in and out of fists. His mother… dead. The four lettered word flashed in his head over and over again, like the lightning outside. "I.will.kill.him," he muttered slowly.

"What did you say?"

"I'm going to kill him," Kurt repeated. The look he gave Rogue was unlike anything she'd ever seen him glare at anyone. His golden eyes were aflame with every negative emotion in the book, his lips curled into a snarl. Rogue felt his seething rage, anguish, and fear slam into her with every breath he snorted out. Then he was gone.

"Kurt! No!" Rogue stood up and scrambled to the room Victor was in with Logan. To her horror, they weren't in there. "Logan? Kurt? Remy!" She heard some movement and then the sound of Kurt's teleporting.

BAMF! BAMF! BAMF!

"Get offa me, you sorry excuse for a squirrel!"

_Kurt,_ Rogue internally breathed. She ran into the room, not finding Logan anywhere.

"P'…tite," she heard Remy weakly say.

"Remy, talk ta me. Where's Logan?" 

"_Knocked out._ _Victor threw a slab o' cement on his head. No tellin' how long he be out."_ His eyes fluttered shut for a moment and opened again, slowly. "_He was comin' after me but Kurt came t' de rescue."_

"_Ah told him 'bout mah Momma. He's runnin' on pure adrenaline now! Ah wanna stop him but Ah'm so frightened, Remy. Ah can't think anymore!"_

"_Rogue… calm down._ _De ot'ers should be here any minute."_

"_That's not enough!" _She checked over her shoulder on Kurt's progress. He had been taking cheap hits – punch, teleport, kick, teleport. She could see it was taking its toll on him after so much teleporting. _He's weakenin'!_ On an impulse, Rogue extended her hands towards them. "Kurt, move!"

Her brother heard her voice and jumped away immediately. From Rogue's left hand, she shot Victor with a plasma blast she stole from Alex. From her right hand, she sent forth Alison's power. The air was void of all sound as she absorbed it into her hand. Rogue screamed to augment the amount of sound power but it was all white noise to Remy. The ringing in his ears prevented him from hearing Rogue in his mind. "_Shut yoah eyes, Remy!"_

The light streamed out of her fingertips not too much unlike Jubilee's ability, except no sound of fireworks accompanied it. To anyone else, it could've been a scene from a television show on mute. The light overpowered Rogue's left hand and catapulted Victor into the room across the hall.

When the light finally ceased it's expulsion from her hand, Rogue stared at it with wide, scared eyes. Her breath came out in quick, shallow gasps. "Ah did not just do that." She looked from her hand to the hole in the wall that led across the hall. Victor was out on the ground.

"Rogue?"

She blinked. Kurt. She glanced around to where he had jumped. "Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine, just _really_ exhausted. How are you?"

"Ah feel great, actually. Physically that is. Mah head is still a mess."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get it sorted out," he smiled warmly. "The professor was on his way home with Ororo when we heard what happened." Rogue just nodded, not really making eye contact with her brother. The eyes still hurt too much. As if he could tell what she was avoiding, he softly asked, "Where is she, Rogue?"

Rogue swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat. "Down the hall. Ah don't wanna get her, an' Ah don't think you should either."

"I want to, Rogue. She's our mother. I need to say goodbye to her."

_He can say goodbye to me now…_ said the mingled voice of Rogue and Raven in Rogue's head.

Tears welled in Rogue's eyes. "If ya want to… go ahead. Ah just need her ta leave mah head. She hurts too much. So much more than the others." She brought her hands up to her face, cradling her head in her gloved hands. Then realization hit. Gloves. Remy's gloves.

Remy.

Rogue whipped around and rushed over to Remy, who was slumped on the floor. "Remy, Remy? C'mon, speak ta me, sugah."

"Rogue?" He mumbled softly.

"It's me." His eyes blinked, but didn't focus on her. His pupils were gone. Solid red painted on top of midnight black. "What's wrong?"

"I can' see y'."

"What do ya mean ya can't see me?"

"Bright white everywhere. It hurts." He was close to whimpering. His eyes fluttered shut as if it could take away the brightness.

Rogue glanced over her shoulder when she heard Kurt departing via his teleportation. He was going to see their mother, despite how burned out he may have been. She turned back to Remy and took his face in her hands. "Didn't ya hear me ta close yoah eyes?"

Remy shook his head numbly. "It was like I was deaf. Now I guess I'm blind," he chuckled bitterly.

"It's gotta be temporary."

Ignoring her comment, he asked, "How're y' doin'?" His voice sounded stronger than before, but everything still came out in harsh whispers.

"Ah'm okay. Ah just told Kurt that mah head is a mess an' he said Xavier can help me."

"He pro'bly c'n."

"Yeah." She ran her thumb over Remy's cheek underneath his blank eye. "Ah'm so sorry."

"It's not y' fault." A cough. "How often do y' use Alison's power t' be able to wield it properly? Like y' said, it should only be temporary." _I hope._

Rogue heard a glimmer of his thoughts and bent her head down. He couldn't see her cry, so it was okay. She felt his empathy reaching out to her – the only thing he really had left until he had suitable medical care. She dropped her walls and let him feel her, slowly so as not to overload him. They hadn't been one person, so to speak, in so long.

Her emotions trickled in through his broken shields like a river through a holey dam. Rogue herself tiptoed along the debris of the fallen stone. She heard Remy gasp. "_Y' hurt so much, chere."_

"_Ah do." _ It wasn't a question.

"_It's over, Rogue."_ He knew it really wasn't. He could sense Rogue's bitter laugh before it echoed through his mind.

"He's not dead, Remy. Ah'll never be free."

"_Don' talk like dat! Rogue, I know dat in our time t'get'er, y' still had de naggin' fear of him, but y' grew besides dat. Y' learned so much 'bout life – much more den y' ever would've learned in de South. Y've grown in t' dis wonderful person dat people beg t' be around 'cuz y' happiness jus' radiates."_ He sighed deeply. "_I learned so much, too. Mostly from y'."_

"Me?" She glistened with purely innocent confusion. 

"_Kurt made it so clear f'me. Y' taught me how t' care. On de street… t'ings were lookin' bleak – I didn' expect t' see fourteen an' I didn' care. Wit' y'… I had a purpose. I **have** a purpose. No matter what shit I do, I know y'll be dere unconditionally, whet'er it pains y' or not."_

"_Ah… Ah don't know what ta say, Remy."_

"_I know what t' say._ _I love y', Rogue."_

Rogue blinked. Did he just say that? She blinked several more times before the words actually took meaning in her mind. Remy, on the other hand, was feeling nothing but blankness from her. Should he have not said it? Did it seem forced? _Dammit, I've gone an' screwed t'ings up an'-_

Suddenly, he felt Rogue press her body against his in a hug. "Ah love ya, too." Tears were flowing freely from her eyes now. "Ah had no idea… Ah mean, where did this come from?"

"Between y' brot'er an' Sarah-" 

"_Sarah?"_

"_Oui._ _She's jealous," _he chuckled.

Rogue giggled, but faint traces of uncertainty still prickled against Remy's empathy. "_What's wrong?"_

"_Ah've always been confused about mah feelings foh ya. Like, it isn't the type of love in those cheesy romantic comedies where boy meets girl one day, fall in love the next, do 'it' the day after that, decide for weird reasons that it won't work out an' **then** they realize they're soul mates an' can't live without each other."_

"_You're ramblin' a lot t' day,"_ Remy idly pointed out.

"Can ya blame me?" She asked aloud.

"Actually… non. But t' go on what y' said – we have much more den dat Hollywood bullshit. We're on a completely diff'rent level dan dat. T' tell y' de truth, I don't feel a single physical urge towards y'."

"_Why? Am Ah not pretty?"_ She was so naïve – Remy wished he could look her in the eyes and explain this to her but the world was still piercingly white.

"Rogue… we have a different kinda love."

"_That an' Ah'm way too young foh that stuff?"_

"_Exactly._ _I didn' wan' hurt y' by saying dat… y' age never used t' matter t' me b'fore – Not that it does now! Merde… I'm confused, too."_

Rogue sighed wistfully. "_Ah wish Ah was eleven again. Things were so much easier then… Ah wouldn't be worried about this – Ah mean – do Ah even know what love is?"_

"_I t'ink y' do… it's jus' a matter of puttin' it in t' words dat's makin' y' go crazy, because I know I feel it."_

"_Ya do?"_

He laughed faintly. "_Empat'y, p'tite."_

Rogue giggled. "_Raht, duh."_ She paused for a moment. "_Things actually feel like they're gonna be fine."_

"_Dey do,"_ he softly said. While he was just lying there, his energy had built up bit by bit. He wrapped his arms around Rogue, holding her tight, silently promising never to let go.

"_Ah'm worried about Kurt,"_ she whispered into his mind. "_Momma looked awful before she…"_ She couldn't say 'died.'

"I know, p'tite. It's gon' take time t' get ov'r dis."

"_It's gonna be so hard… Even though Ah hadn't talked ta her in so long, Ah thought about her all the time. She shows up in mah journal like every other day. Ah wanna hurt mahself foh bein' so stubborn an' not givin' her a chance ta make amends…" _ She choked on tears.

"Shh," he murmured. "_Just give it time. It's too late t' dwell on de past."_

"_Ah guess ya're raht…"_ she sighed. "_You'll help me, raht?"_

"_Course, chere._ _I'll never leave y' again. Not aft'r dis. Hell, I'm buyin' y' a leash f'r me so I can' ever get away."_

Rogue giggled. It was full of life and sounded so sincere to Remy's ears. Ah, the post sobbing giggles. "_The kind with shocks?"_

"_If y' like."_

"_Sounds like a deal ta me," _she grinned, slightly pained that Remy couldn't see her smile. However, her smile brightened even more as she laid her head down on Remy's leather covered shoulder. She hadn't felt so safe in so long. She couldn't think of any other place that she wanted to be at that moment. Despite it all, she was happy. Almost like her short-lived ability to touch, she wished she could freeze that moment, even though so much torment had occurred for it to happen.

Although Remy couldn't see her, she'd given him the best way for him to experience her. Her emotions flooded his empathy to a point he could taste it. For some reason, he was thinking about chocolate when he heard it. _Oh, merde._

Rogue was still cuddled into his chest when Remy shuddered. "What is it?" she whispered, looking up into his blank eyes.

"Victor," he whispered hoarsely. In a harsh moment's time, Rogue had been ripped off Remy and thrown across the room. In a small attempt to defend himself, Remy found some rocks and threw them at Victor without even thinking. The feral man was barely even stunned as he took numerous slashes at Remy, cutting his chest, abdomen and legs.

"**_NO!_**" Rogue screamed in a guttural tone. Remy had never heard her cry out like that – it was so primal it didn't sound like Rogue at all. Her anger boiled over and Remy was hit with the intenseness of all her absorbed powers, all combined into one. It was the last thing he remembered before his loss of blood overtook his senses and he blacked out.

"God, I feel like we're too late!" Jean cried, anxious to get out of the van. It'd taken every piece of her will power to not just levitate the car and take it to where Logan had said he and the boys were.

"They should be fine. We need to keep a clear head," Scott soothed, rubbing her hand. Bobby had just pulled the van up to the office building when the ground began to shake.

"Oh my stars and garters," Hank breathed, bounding out of the car and running full kilt towards the building. His previous conversation with the boys had left him guilt-stricken and he knew in his heart that they had the right idea of going without the rest of the team.

Betsy and Kitty were the next out of the van. Betsy immediately took to scanning the area psychically while Kitty chased Hank up to the front entrance. They faintly heard Betsy scream in distress right before the building exploded right before their eyes.

TBC…


	22. Farben

Street Livin' 

Chapter 22

_Blink. Flash. Groan. Pattering. Beeping._

**Beep… beep**… **beep.**

_Blink. Flash._

"Ugh…" Remy's body ached with pain as he attempted to move, only to feel the scrape of medical bandages wrapped around every movable part of his body. Now he knew what a mummy felt like.

"Do not try moving," Hank soothed in his doctor tone. "You took quite a beating, I'm afraid."

Remy kept his eyes shut, fearing the worst. What if his eyesight hadn't returned? "How long have I been out?"

"A total of three days. You faded in and out of consciousness several times during that period. Am I to assume you don't remember?"

"Uh-huh."

"You suffered some head trauma, had some respiratory problems and you loss an excessive amount of blood, but it's looking good for you Remy," Hank said, his voice lightening up. He was always great for that – ever the optimist. "You should be in tip-top condition in a week or so."

Remy nodded weakly, his eyes still shut. "How is she?"

On the other side of Remy's closed eyelids, Hank's hopeful demeanor faded away. "She's in much worse condition, Remy," he answered gravely.

Remy's heart skipped a beat and it could be heard on his heart monitor. "How so?" he managed to croak out. His throat was suddenly drier than it had been seconds before.

"She's in a light coma… do you remember anything about that night?"

"I remember holdin' her – an' losin' her – an' feelin' her go overload…"

"That's an accurate way to describe what happened. Rogue's powers – meaning those she had absorbed in the past – were too in tune with her emotions. She brought down the building with a final blast of everything mixed." Hank paused for a moment as he sadly dredged up the memory of checking the debris.

As he and Kitty had been the first towards the office building, they were violently knocked back when it suddenly exploded. Hank and she quickly recovered from the stun of the blast and ran straight into the wreckage. Kitty grabbed Hank's hand and together, they searched.

It didn't take long to find Rogue. She was suspended in the air, as if she were lying on an invisible bed at a forty-five degree angle. Her head was tipped back, agony etched across her face.

"It looks like a scene from 'the Exorcist'…" Kitty mumbled. She half expected the scene to be concluded with the moonlight shining through the broken roof onto the younger girl. She shuddered as she ran over to Rogue, while Hank stayed back and found Remy. The other mutants were making their way through the rubble.

Kitty reached Rogue, her breath caught in her throat. "Honey…?" She reached out to touch Rogue's face with her gloved hand. Kitty unconsciously turned herself intangible when she literally felt a shield around the young girl. Kitty in no way had any sort of psychic abilities, but Rogue was still expelling so much power that it was practically tangible. She had locked herself inside herself. "Rogue… can you hear me?"

Rogue's body began to turn upright as if she was waking up. Her arms fell to her sides, still hanging limply as they were when she was suspended. Kurt's jacket lay in tatters among her pale body. The stringy pieces of cloth bounced slightly when her feet touched the ground. Somehow, she stood upright, though she appeared so fragile. If someone were to tap her, she'd collapse on sight.

Her head was lowered to the ground. Kitty opened her mouth to call to her again, but instead a small voice made it to the young woman's ears. "Kitty?"

"Yes, Rogue. It's Kitty. Are you okay?" Kitty tried her best to hold in her excitement that Rogue was capable of speaking.

"Ah don't know… Is he dead?"

"Who?" Kitty quickly glanced around on the floor amongst the debris. Bobby was in the process of clearing up a large pile of cement and wood.

"Eww…" he muttered as he picked up a final piece. "I'm gonna guess this _was_ Victor…"

Paige walked up next to him. "Oh mah…" She held a hand to her lips as she swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat.

Kitty looked back to Rogue. "Victor's dead, honey. It's over."

Rogue slightly shook her head. "Is Remy okay?" she asked. He was her main concern. A tiny light sparked inside her mind, in all the darkness. _Is he really dead? Did he kill Remy befoh Ah _- gulp – _killed him?_

Once again, Kitty looked over her shoulder to check on Hank's progress with Remy. She had previously been oblivious to Remy's well being and now that she took in a full gander of what exactly happened to him, she couldn't be too sure if he would survive. Biting her lip, she turned back to Rogue. "He's going to be fine, honey. You should rest. You were so strong despite it all."

"Where's Kurt?" Rogue asked, ignoring Kitty's comments. She had no time for Kitty's bullshit.

Kitty blinked. She hadn't thought of Kurt. "I'm not sure."

Rogue slowly raised her head to look Kitty in the eye. "Find him," she ordered, her voice low and full of threats. It didn't sound like Rogue. Her eyes averted to where Remy laid, tears pooling in her sockets immediately. "No," she breathed. She took a step over towards him, but instantly fell over herself. She collapsed to the ground, her leg bending unnaturally.

Through gritted teeth, Rogue sobbed Remy's name. She was so weak. _Remy?_ _Can ya hear me?_ She felt empty again. Quickly, she glanced around her mind. The 'closet door' was hanging off its hinges from being broken open before. Regardless, there wasn't a single speck of residue in there. Rogue was tapped dry. _Ah need ta touch someone… a psycho!_ Her eyes averted back and forth. "Jean?" she numbly called out, hoping the psychic was within hearing distance.

Jean heard her from across the room. She levitated herself and flew to Rogue over all the debris. As Jean passed by Betsy, the violet-haired psychic's mind tingled. "I've got a track on Kurt."

Scott stood next to her. "Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Physically… he's fine." She spared a glance towards Rogue, her Asian features visibly depressing. "This is beyond horrible now," she said softly as she turned away from Scott.

Jean knelt down next to Rogue. She could sense the girl's anguish and her inability to keep herself awake. "You need to sleep," Jean whispered maternally.

Rogue had two coherent thought processes at that moment. One, she needed to know if Remy was okay. Two, she despised Jean in that moment. It hurt to listen to hear Jean talk that way. How dare she feel like she can fill the void in Rogue's heart so soon? With a mental growl, Rogue felt that absorbing Jean would be all the more justified…

Rogue's hand slowly reached out to Jean. The redhead smiled warmly and accepted the hand in her own. Carefully, she pulled Rogue into a hug. _Ah need ta talk ta Remy,_ Rogue thought harshly.

"Sleep, hun." She could sense Jean sending a psychic probe her way.

"No," Rogue wearily said as she flopped her bare arm against Jean's face.

Jean shrieked as if she'd been burned with scalding acid and recoiled out of Rogue's reach. That being Rogue's last bit of energy, she fell out of Jean's arms and onto the ground.

One last coherent thought flowed through her mind before she passed out. _Ah'm_ _sorry, Remy._

He didn't stir as if he'd heard her. Jean was not weakened at all, just shaken up. Rogue's powers were once again gone.

"… She hasn't woken up at all… her life signs are faint. Her blood… it's been mutated. Victor used an advanced strand of mutant DNA that's been manipulated into a form of ability negation… There was no way he did all this alone." Hank wasn't sure if Remy was listening to him ramble on, but Hank didn't necessarily care. The last three days had been hell for him. The stress of caring for the two Southerners was taking its toll on him. Remy would recover, but could Hank be so sure about Rogue?

"Henri?"

"Yes, Remy?"

"… Any idea if my eyes are workin'? I don' wanna open dem only t' found out dey don'."

"I didn't know that you'd been blinded."

"Rogue manifested Alison's power an' I didn' close m' eyes."

"I see… Well, I didn't know to check while you were unconscious, not that it would have made a difference. When I did hold a light to your eyes, they didn't react." Remy sighed heavily. "That was two days ago, however. You should try – slowly – opening your eyes." Hank walked over to his beside. "What could you see before – color wise?"

"Bright white."

"Okay…" Remy heard some shuffling of paper. "Open your eyes."

Remy scrunched his face up, afraid to relax the least bit. What if he still couldn't see? Maybe it would be permanent? Clenching his jaw, he sucked up the last bit of courage he had and cracked open his right eye. He did the same with his left.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Remy," Hank laughed.

Remy breathed slowly and opened his eyes fully. Red. Dark, almost bloody… but wonderful red. He turned his head to his right and saw Hank, grinning hopefully all in his blue glory and his white doctor coat. "Henri, I c'n see!"

"That is terrific, Remy!"

Remy's exuberance was short lived, however. Once he had gotten over the wonderful fact he could see again, his view reflexively found Rogue's position in the room. She was lying in a bed identical to his, alone. She was pale – her lips almost indistinguishable against her chalk-like skin. Her arms were still at her sides as if someone had just put them there. Remy knew how she slept. She liked to sleep on her side with an arm propped underneath her pillow, supporting her head. Looking at her like that – _It's like she already be dead_, Remy thought harshly.

"I t'ink I'd be pushin' it if I asked t' go ov'r dere, right?"

"Just a bit, Remy. You must remain in bed for at least another day or so until your concussion passes. If you were to stand up, you'd feel something similar to vertigo."

"Merde. T'anks," he replied, though he didn't know why. All he could do was stare at Rogue. That's all he had left now.

Rogue played with the door hanging off the hinge. "Stupid door," she muttered to no one. She knew no one would hear her. She'd been playing with the door for hours on end. It was the only thing to occupy herself with. She wanted to fix it – but hadn't found the proper tools to do so. It was aggravating to say the least.

Sighing heavily, she stood up and dusted off her legs. She was still in the tatters of Kurt's jacket and her underwear. Feeling slightly self-conscious despite her obvious aloneness, she thought warm thoughts and covered herself up in her normal clothing. Smiling to herself now that she was in comfortable black pants and a red turtleneck, she began to walk. Where? She didn't know. It was better than fumbling with a broken door. Realizing then she could have easily created tools to fix the door, she walked away anyway. That door was becoming the scorn of her existence in her own mind, and she wanted out.

Remy had fallen asleep for a couple hours, even though Hank had strongly disagreed with him doing so. The doctor was not about to inject Remy with any stimulant however.

He began to blink, though it was dark unlike when Remy had first woken up. He hadn't a single clue what time it was. The lighting in the medical room was dim, as if Hank had just left for nighttime. Remy sighed, and picked up a faint trace of sulfur and brimstone lingering in his nose. He sniffed more obviously and he felt movement in the room. "Kurt?" he called, hoping that the elf-like mutant was in his presence.

"Hey," Kurt replied, moving over to Remy's side of the room. He had been no doubt sitting with Rogue. Remy remembered what he had thought way back before they'd entered the office building that fateful night. Raven was gone, and Rogue was on the brink of wherever.

_His anchor to the world would be demolished._

"… I'm sorry, mon ami." Remy couldn't think of anything else to say.

Kurt shrugged. "Heh, what could you do to save her? We both tried our best… I feel so guilty for getting out of the building before it came down..."

"I was talkin' 'bout y' maman. Rogue isn' gone yet," Remy said softly, reassuringly.

Remy felt Kurt's bottom lip trembling. It was like a hammering against his skin. His empathy was slowly building back up with every second he was awake, and the tense emotions in the institute weren't helping at all.

Kurt brought his fangs on top of it to hide the motion but it was futile. Remy slowly pushed himself up into an upright position with a painful groan and stiffly brought his arms around Kurt. "Let it out, mon frere."

Kurt nodded numbly and buried his head into Remy's shoulder. "I miss her so much," he whispered before the tears started to fall. Remy nodded, unsure of what to say. "To see her… just lying there that night… I – I couldn't think. And then, when the building started to fall, I just grabbed her and p-p-ported out." His sobbing was beginning to affect his speech. "I w-w-was away from the building when it ca-ame down and –" he sniffled loudly, "her blood just started to stain the snow! It was horrible, Remy!" Kurt's limber body began to shake with the turbulence of his weeping.

He pulled away from Remy to hold out his hand. "I held m-my hand out like this to her skin… we would always say how we matched perfectly. Rogue would always feel left out because she didn't look like us." The hand shook with tremors as Kurt attempted to keep it steady. "She was so pale." He breathed in hard to keep his voice strong. "She didn't look like either of us then. She was pale like a blue sky… like a mixture of light and dark when the sunsets minus the extra colors." He took another shuddering breath. "Even though she was dead… she was beautiful. And I knew that she loved me. Rogue sent her feelings over to me that night right before I went for the body… And… And as sick as it sounds, I just held her body in the snow. I don't know how long it was before the others found me.

"I remember Logan coming up to me and just kneeling before me." His voice was gaining strength once again. Remy had the inkling that Kurt hadn't talked to anyone about what had happened at all. He didn't mind that he was the one Kurt had chosen to confide in. He was actually flattered, but a bit concerned. Kurt had held this on himself for three days. What kind of thoughts had gone through his head in those seventy-two hours? "… He didn't say anything… just sat with his head bowed. I looked up at him and his head was still healing."

Kurt paused for a moment and Remy's blazing red eyes met those golden ones of Kurt's. "He was holding my mother's hand… He cried. I couldn't figure out why. I'd never seen him let his guard down like that before." Kurt rubbed his tear stained cheeks. The fur was beginning to mat in weird ways from the wetness. "Then he said to me 'He's dead, Kurt.' I could only nod and let it be that. I saw blood on Logan's knuckles and didn't know whether it was his own, or my mom's or Victor's. It was over."

"It is over," Remy reassured him. "We jus' have t' wait f'r Rogue t' wake up an' make sure she knows dat."

"Hank says he has no idea when she will wake up."

Remy sighed. "I know. Dat's gon' be de hardest part."

"Yeah." Kurt glanced back over his shoulder to his sister while Remy did the same. Her appearance hadn't changed at all. Her chest rose slightly with each breath thanks to the life support system she was on.

"Hey, Kurt?"

He looked back at Remy. "Hm?"

"Wan' play some cards t' kill some time? I don' feel like sleepin' anymore."

Weakly, Kurt nodded. "Do you mind something fast paced?"

"Anyt'in' wit' a lot of t'inkin'," Remy smirked. "C'n y' run t' my room an' grab a deck?"

"Sure. Give me thirty seconds." Remy could've sworn he saw a small smile on the elfish face of Kurt right before he teleported out of his sight. It was the first smile he'd seen on Kurt since before the incident.

With Kurt gone, all that was left to do was once again start at Rogue. She hadn't changed at all – not that Remy had expected her to either. He remembered what he'd said to her: that he loved her. Did he really mean it? Or did he just crack underneath the pressure of everyone telling him that he did love her… she _had_ told him that she loved him back, but then again, what could she – really, the both of them know about such a serious matter?

Sighing, he sent out his empathy towards her. He had tried earlier with Kurt not knowing out of habit with no success. He hated not being able to feel her. Especially at that moment, when he would've given anything to even sense a flicker of emotion from her. Even if it were negative, he would've taken it. Right now, she was a rock - a cold and non-living stone. She stuck out in his awareness and there was nothing he could do to change it. Every moment he experienced competed with the last as his most helpless one.

Rogue was still walking. Her bare feet didn't make a sound as she lightly trudged into nowhere. The silence was almost deafening and a ringing began to sound in her ear. For the hell of it, she began to hum tunelessly, just to keep the utter silence away.

She also began to realize her surroundings as she walked on. Everything was hazy, like a thick cloud had come in and settled around her. It seemed to follow her everywhere. She peered around, hoping to find something besides gray. Then she saw it. In the distance – to Rogue it looked to be about a mile – there was a splash of color. Bright, vivid light. Smiling, Rogue's pace quickened; she now had a goal.

Remy and Kurt played for almost two hours, varying between different games. They started with Spit, which kept them aware of each other's moves instead of on Rogue. Remy won most of the hands of that, unsurprisingly. Kurt even laughed about it once, and Remy joined in. They genuinely had fun and 'forgot' about Rogue for the time being, though the thought of her lingered in the back of both their minds. When it came to poker, Kurt amazingly won a good deal of the hands.

"Where did y' learn? I t'ought I was de card shark of dis place," Remy smirked.

"I can't tell you all of my secrets now, can I?" Kurt laughed in response.

"Touché." Remy did come back with a couple good hands though. After a couple hands of Rummy 500 (where they both didn't even make it up to two hundred points each), they called it a night.

"We'll have to finish this game tomorrow," Kurt suggested.

Remy nodded, yawning. "Y' stayin' here t'night?" He pointed to the vacant bed on the other side of Rogue.

"I don't think I should… There's something I need to do before I head to my room anyway." Unsure of what Kurt was referring to, Remy just let it go and bid him goodnight. He concluded that Kurt was on the way of getting better, but everyone just needed time. His mother was dead and his sister could have most likely been dead. Considering the situation, Kurt was handling it pretty well.

Kurt smiled halfheartedly and walked over to Rogue. With her hair laced around her face, he cradled her head in his soft blue hand. He whispered goodnight to her and kissed her forehead through a lock of white hair. Hank had told him of the loss of her powers, but Kurt still didn't want to take any chances. There was no telling if they'd come back while she was living inside herself.

Once again, and Remy joked to himself that it was becoming a classic cliché; all he could do was stare at Rogue. It wasn't as if he could have entertained himself with any more cards or watched TV (Hank didn't have one installed in the medical room). She still hadn't moved, as surprising as that revelation was to Remy. And even again, he tried with his empathy with no success. He was beginning to get aggravated.

Slowly, he pushed his legs to the side of the bed. It was hard to do with all the bandaging around his legs and torso. However, he'd taken some of the bandaging off in order to play cards with no problem so at least he had the dexterity of his hands.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself. There was no way he could even bend correctly to begin unwrapping the gauze from his knees. He chuckled to himself. _I could pro'bly walk over dere like a robot_.

Momentarily deciding he had nothing better to do, he pushed himself up onto his stiff legs. Immediately he was hit with nausea and a wave of dizziness. He grabbed for the bed but it was too late. He'd unknowingly swayed away from it and landed hard on the cold tiled floor. His right side stung with pain and his vision sprinkled with golden stars. "Merde…" he mumbled as his eyelids fell shut.

When his eyes opened next he was again lying on his bed. With a groan due to the extra pain in his side, he lifted his hands to his face to rub away any grogginess. He brought his hands back down along his neck and rolled over on his left side so he could see Rogue. He came face to face with a sheet of white paper. Another groan emitted from his lips as he tilted it to accommodate his reading view. "Stay in bed, Remy! J" Hank, of course. Remy could tell from the perfectly scripted cursive – it was almost feminine, but it definitely had Hank's medical flair. The 'H' at the bottom was unmistakably his.

Remy discreetly pushed the note off the bed with a smirk. _If I say I didn' see it den would he be upset if I got up again?_ Once again, he sat up, this time hurting a bit more due to his bruised-up side. His legs slid over the side of their own accord and soon he'd pushed himself – painfully – to his feet.

"Oww…" he said as if someone was listening – maybe Rogue would hear him. His hands clutched tightly to his bed sheets so he wouldn't fall again. He looked down to his bandaged legs, feeling nausea was over him again. His eyelids fluttered shut and his grip on the bed tightened even more. Slowly, he moved towards the wall, his eyes cracking open just slightly. He loosened his grip only to move it down a bit and tighten it again. _Hank wasn't kiddin' 'bout dis vertigo feelin'._

Rogue's bed seemed so far away to him now. In reality, she couldn't have been more than fifteen feet away from his bed, but with his mind swimming about and throwing off his equilibrium, she could've been all the way across a football field. It made no matter to Remy though. He would get to her.

He found the wall and smiled. He would look like such a fool using the wall as a guide and walking with tightly bound legs, but he didn't care. Maybe that was the small blessing in Rogue being unconscious: he wouldn't have to worry about being Mr. Dark and Dashing for now.

**You live in the dark, you in the pain, you on the run.**

Rogue's pace had turned into a sprint in a matter of moments. She tried teleporting, flying, anything that would get her there quicker, but nothing availed. Although she'd materialized the clothes on her body, that seemed to be the extent of her power now in her mind. She was trapped, but somehow she knew when she finally reached the color, she would be free.

**Living a hell, living a ghost, living your end.**

It still seemed so far away. She wanted to be able to reach out and touch the color. Before – in her line of view – she could put her pinky finger up and block the color from her sight. Now, it took her two palms to cover it. It was her only way of telling herself that she'd gotten somewhere. She paused to glance behind her back. Gray. Sickly, dark and unenthusiastic gray. It made her want to run even more.

**Never seem to get in the place that I belong.**

"Almost there… almost there…" Her chanting echoed in her ears and soon she began hearing her feet slam onto the cold ground of her mind.

**Don't wanna lose the time, lose the time to come.**

Remy trailed along the wall. He kept most of his weight on his hands and arms, slowly but steadily making his way to Rogue. Luckily, the IV Hank had him on was on the correct side of the bed. It followed him, its wheels squeaking in such a taunting tone Remy wanted to knock it over and continue his trek in peace. "Focus on her, Remy," he told himself. _She's all dat matters now._

**Whatever you say it's all right, whatever you do it's all good.**

"Almost dere."

**Whatever you say it's all right.**

Slam. Slam. Slam. She had stopped chanting to herself and the pounding of her naked feet barely registered in her mind. It was all a hollow echo all around her. The light was so close. Just a few more steps and it would be hers.

**Silence is not the way; we need to talk about it.**

He was so close to her now. He could see the med lab's florescent lights reflect off Rogue's respiratory tubes. She looked even more pallid up close.

If heaven is on the way… 

"So pale…" he whispered numbly, his hand finally touching the generic metal headboard. Her skin was just a shade pinker than the bone white strands framing her face. Remy noticed at that moment that the strands had turned into several locks. Through the front part of her scalp threaded more white strands, highlighting a good portion of her hair. If it weren't for her angelic face, she may have looked fifty-some years old.

If heaven is on the way… 

**You in the sea, on a decline, breaking the waves.**

Rogue closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the color before her. Every shade of color had a feeling and it was wonderful. The blues and cyans were a chilling breeze along her neck. The greens licked at her feet like blades of grass. Yellows and oranges beat down on her from above. Reds kissed her face like lips. She smiled underneath the tender care of all the sensations. She needed to see it. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she gasped at the sights in front of her.

**Watching the lights go down, letting the cables sleep.**

Everything fell into some organized order when her eyes adjusted. Images were everywhere. They weren't flashes like she was used to when she would absorb people; it was more like in every place in front of her there were living, breathing people going about with their daily duties. Rogue's head tilted to the side – she recognized all of them. She could see her teammates, but it didn't seem like any of them could see her.

**Whatever you say it's all right, whatever you do it's all good.**

Remy weighed the options his head. He could stand and just stare at her. Or, he could attempt sitting down on the bed. It would be hard… if he tried the latter he would just end up draped across her prone body. Just imagining Hank or anyone coming in would be a very embarrassing sight.

**Whatever you say it's all right.**

His head was pounding with the exhaustion of moving. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten up after all…

**Silence is not the way, we need to talk about it.**

No. Getting up was the right thing to do. He heard randomly that talking to people in comas usually helps them get out, right? And he certainly couldn't talk to her from across the room. But then again, he didn't know how long he could stand up on his two legs without fainting again.

**If heaven is on the way, we'll wrap the world around it.**

"Remy?"

He blinked. He heard Rogue's voice but knew it wasn't her. His head looked up to the doorway where Ororo was standing with Sarah. They were blurred – the only distinguishing factor between the two of them was the blotch of white and pink against the metal walls.

"What are you doing out of bed, Remy?" Ororo asked, Sarah rushing over to him. The wind rider wasn't far behind.

Sarah pulled up a chair for him to sit in next to Rogue's bed. "You shouldn't be out of bed! Your head is too damaged to be doing any sort of exertion."

"Pff, says Henri." His gaze drifted over to Rogue. _Almost dere, cherie._

If heaven is on the way, if heaven is on the way… 

Rogue walked towards the people. She saw Sam and Paige talking and eating dinner with their family. Jean was bathing an infantile Nathan in the tub with Scott watching serenely from the doorway. Emma was in her room sprawled out on her bed, doped up on some anti-depressant.

**I'm a stranger in this town.**

Curiously, Rogue made her way to the Emma image. "Emma? Can ya hear me?" Emma didn't move or acknowledge Rogue's presence in any way. Rogue looked closer and saw how much younger Emma appeared. It was almost as if she were sixteen again, though Rogue had never known the older woman at that age. Tear stains streaked the blonde's face and Rogue realized that it wasn't Emma's room at the institute.

**I'm a stranger in this town.**

Rogue tore her face away from that image, wondering where she was. Peering about, she found one of Bobby playing in the snow with Jubilee. Bobby had just built up a strong wall of ice and Jubilee was pelting snowballs at it with no avail. They were each about fourteen from Rogue's guess.

I'm a stranger in this town 

Rogue blinked. "Ah've gotta get outta here," she whispered to herself. First the door, now this.

She backed away from Jubilee and Bobby, who didn't notice her retreat at all. Her breath became loud and shallow as her mind reeled with confusion. Everyone passed her in blurs: Jean's scarlet hair, Scott's ruby glasses, Emma's sterile while room, Ororo dusty brown hometown village, Lorna's baby-fine lime green hair, Betsy's painting violet nail polish onto a drunken Warren's hands, Hank's transformation into the blue beast he presently was, Kurt's forever golden eyes.

Blue.

Gold.

**If heaven is on the way.**

"I am happy to see you're up though, Remy," Ororo smiled. "It was painful to see you so tightly bound up and in bed."

Sarah smirked as well. "Usually I would say something in response to you being completely tied up and helpless…" she trailed off when he didn't react to either of their comments.

His eyes were boring into Rogue. He sensed a flicker. It was all he needed. It was like a small pebble had broken off the boulder named Rogue on his personal astral plane.

There was hope.

If heaven is on the way… 

Blue and Gold. Soon all the other colors had ceased to be, with the exception of those two and the brilliant orange-red that consumed Raven's hair.

"Momma?"

A maternal smile graced her face. "I'm here, Beth."

"… Why aren't Ah seein' yoah memories like Ah'm seein' everyone else's?"

"Because I'm _your_ memory."

Rogue peered at her as if her mother had just grown three more arms – not that it wasn't impossible for the shapeshifter, but the absurdity of the image was enough to identify the look on Rogue's face. "Ah don't understand. Where am Ah?"

"You're trapped in your head right now. Just taking some down time." Raven extended her hand towards her daughter. "Come walk with me."

Rogue hesitated for a moment, but then placed her hand in her mother's, realizing how much smaller her hand was at the moment. She looked up to her mother and saw that the woman was so much taller than her as well. She glanced down to see that she was closer to the ground than she would have imagined.

**I'm a stranger in this town.**

They began to walk, and Rogue was having trouble keeping up with her mother's strides. Just like when she was younger…

**I'm a stranger in this town.**

They walked and Rogue began to see the Mississippi river stretch out in the distance. Their first house rose in front of it and Rogue giggled with glee. She let go of her mother's hand and ran to the river. She made it to the outer banks and turned to wait for Raven, a joyful smile graced upon her face. Raven's face was of pure happiness as well.

Rogue looked down into the water and saw her reflection. For one, her outfit had changed: lemon yellow tank top (and upon a further scrutiny, flower print shorts). Gone were the white streaks framing her face. Gone were the lines of weariness and torment that sometime etched across her features in times of turmoil. Back was the hope in her green eyes. She was five again.

**I'm a stranger in this town.**

It was probably her happiest memory with her mother. Days before Victor where they would just lay by the banks. Raven sat down on the grass next to the conveniently placed picnic basket. "Eat with me, Bethany."

Rogue nodded with a smile and stepped away from the bank to sit with her mom. Raven started to lie out what was in the basket and Rogue could've died from happiness. Homemade fried chicken! She beamed at her mother, who smiled back in return. Although Raven was just a memory, she was still reacting with Rogue as if it were real time. They were having a moment they should've shared more often before her terrible demise.

"Is Kurt coming home soon?" Rogue randomly asked.

Raven smiled and looked over Rogue's shoulder. Rogue turned around and immediately, her nose was pressed against the blue fur of her brother. "Kurt!" She tackled her brother, who had also been de-aged.

"Hey, Bethie," he smiled.

"How is the Xavier Institute working for you, honey?" Raven asked.

"I love it! People there are so understanding and just accept me for who I am." He reached down to grab a piece of chicken. "You made this, right?"

"Of course she did, Kurt!" Rogue answered. Kurt smiled and took a bite out of the chicken.

"Just how I like it."

Rogue grinned with chicken in her mouth. This was how life should've been. Something was missing though for her and she couldn't place her finger on it…

Remy was so intent on feeling Rogue's emotions that he didn't notice Ororo and Sarah exiting the room. They'd become frustrated in their attempts to talk to him so they quickly said goodbye and left. He didn't even acknowledge them.

The 'pebble' turned out to be confusion and Remy figured that she was just realizing that she was in her mind. Maybe she'd just woken up within herself and it would really only be a matter of time before she knew she had to wake up into the real world.

Soon, more broke off. She was slowly coming aware of everything in her mind, he assumed. But then, suddenly, nothing happened. It was almost a steady flow of pebbles until nothing, like she'd found a stable point. It scared Remy. What if she was settled enough in her mind that she would never wake up?

"Dammit," he muttered. It was the first thing he had muttered since the girls had first come to visit him, and they had sat with him for over thirty minutes in attempt to converse with him.

He pulled away from her for the time being to give his mind a break. Using his empathy at this rate would knock him back out in a short matter of time. He sat back in the chair Sarah had given him the best his could – his body wouldn't bend into a 90-degree angle for the life of him.

An idea came to mind. _What if I were t' touch her… Hank said dat her powers weren' workin'… but what if dey came back on? Would I be able to snap her outta it?_ Then he remembered what he'd heard about comas before – the person shouldn't be woken up at all… they just need to wake up on their own. The thought aggravated Remy. _It's not fair,_ he thought harshly. _She needs t' know I'm here. I need t' know dat she's dere! She looks so dead,_ he thought in a quieter tone.

He reached up to her face, aiming to brush away a strand of white away from her eyes. He imagined her being afraid when she woke up. At least he'd woken up in the three days they'd been in the med-lab. She'd been in darkness for that whole time – from his perspective, anyway.

As he pushed the hair aside, his finger gently brushed against her pale forehead. Remy didn't even feel it because it was such a subtle touch, and Rogue didn't change – physically.

Rogue was sipping homemade strawberry lemonade when she felt… different. With her mom and Kurt, she'd overwhelmed with happiness, but something was inherently missing. However, she was sensing all colors at the picnic: the green of the grass, the clear blue of the river, the orange warmth of the sun, the wonderful gold of her family's eyes. Something still struck her as peculiar though.

Upon feeling strange, she set down her lemonade on the red and white checker blanket. As the purple plastic cup touched the red block of fabric – the color actually moved.

Rogue recoiled from the blanket, jumping up onto her small legs. "What's wrong, Bethany? Is there a bug on the blanket?" Raven asked, concerned.

"The red moved," she squeaked in response, pointing at the alleged square.

"What?"

"It… rippled."

"You're imaging things, honey," Raven smiled.

"But-"

"Beth, c'mon," Kurt laughed. "The red moved? I think your imagination is playing tricks with you." His tail twitched with his snickers.

She snatched his writhing tail from the air. "Ah know what Ah saw," she said menacingly.

"Hey!" He smacked her hand away from the prehensile tail. When his hand connected with hers, a flash of light overcame her vision, and Kurt appeared momentarily fatigued. He shook his head to brush away the slight confusion and continued cradling his tail, but Rogue knew. While Kurt pretended nothing had happened, Rogue knew.

Instinctively, she looked up to her mother for answers. Raven stared back at her blankly as if she was trying to hide something. Frustrated, Rogue turned away from her and looked to the picnic blanket again. She tentatively poked her finger at the red block that had wavered before. Sure enough, it once again rippled as if she was poking at a still lake. This time, however, when her finger pulled away, the color came with her. It sucked onto her finger like a baby nursing – the further away she pulled, the more the color came with her. She looked down at the block and saw that the particular square on the blanket had become unsaturated as she pulled away the color. It was pure black. From her view, with her finger still pulling, it was red on black.

Red.

Black.

She gasped. "Remy."

With that revelation, an intoxicatingly warm shower of red came upon her and the picnic. She watched sadly as her mother and brother was tucked into the comfort of familiar cascading black. Watching her mother leave was hard, but Rogue knew she'd be safe in darkness. Rogue knew the darkness well – and it was unbelievably and ironically comforting.

She sat back down and eventually lay down in the heated shower. Her skin began to tint pink from the red droplets. "Remy?" she called. He was so close. She could feel his empathy beat against her with each raindrop that fell against her skin. Without even realizing it, her clothes unconsciously faded so she could feel the tickle of every droplet against her pale skin. She giggled as they splashed across her face, arms, legs and torso. She was with him at that moment, and she had no idea how.

As she basked herself in the red rain, she noticed that her body had lengthened again – she'd aged ten years to the present time. She lazily picked the lock of hair that she knew had been void of her natural auburn and saw that, oddly, it was still the reddish-brown color. She didn't feel complete.

Her other hand grazed down to the picnic blanket and pinched at a white square. Smiling, she simply picked up the color and smeared it onto the lock of hair.

"Ah love mah mind," she giggled, toying with her hair. Instantly, the white streak began to absorb the still falling rain. Her face turned up toward what was the sky of her mind before black had over taken it. Her smile fell. "But Ah need ta wake up." Silently, she added _Goodnight, Momma._

Remy had fallen asleep. The effort he had expended on traveling across the room and using his empathy had taken its toll on him.

He hadn't felt a thing from when he mistakenly touched Rogue. His wounds he did feel, however. Somehow he'd forgotten about the gash on his throat. _One track mind, Cajun,_ he'd laughed to himself when he realized how obvious it was. The thick cotton gauze around his neck had begun to feel restricting and the constant thought of that weakened him as well. Slowly, his last bit of energy left him and he was left with the need to fall asleep and rest.

His arm haphazardly propped his head up. The position wasn't comfortable in the least and he would no doubt wake up sore, but his exhaustion ignored that meager little fact.

He did not sleep long, because he woke up to a tapping on his head. It was light, almost not there, but Remy still prepared himself for a lecture from Hank. He could almost be sure that Ororo or Sarah would have told the blue doctor about what Remy had done. If they had, Remy told himself to not be angry with the two girls. They were only worried about his safety and he was setting himself up for inevitable pain and maybe further damage.

"I'm sorry, Henri," he mumbled, trying to pick up head up. His neck was in considerable pain, so the task was difficult.

A faint giggle flowed to his ears. "Last time Ah checked," a soft voice began. "Ah didn't have blue fur."

Remy blinked. _I imagined dat voice. It's pro'bly jus' Sarah again._ He tried to turn his head to the source of the voice, but a groan escaped his lips from the pain.

"Ooh, don't hurt yoahself, sugah. Not on account of me."

He had to do a double take no the voice again. "Why not f'r y'?" He responded without thinking.

"Because ya look more banged up than Ah do!"

At this point Remy had managed to crank his head around to Rogue. He didn't know if he was being delusional and Rogue was still comatose or what. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to be awake at that moment either.

When he had faced the voice, the thought of not wanting Rogue to be awake faded.

Green. Blinking, beautiful, glorious green.

"Chere?"

A small smile came to her still very pale face. "Hi, Remy," she said in the same tiny tone.

Remy tried to manage a smile, but his lips were wavering too much from his internal tears of joy. "Y' up!"

Rogue grinned this time. "Ah am."

Eagerly, Remy attempted to shuffle himself around so he could see her better. "Ow."

"Don't do that! Don't hurt yoahself, jus' relax, Remy." She reached out towards him shakily, placing the thin bed sheet between her hand and his. "Shouldn't you be in bed? Hank's gonna throw a fit if you're over here."

Remy shrugged nonchalantly and hid the pain it caused him. "Wouldn' stop me from seein' y'."

Color finally came to her cheeks with his words. The faintest blush of pink reached her cheeks as she smiled. "Ah missed you."

"I did too. Y' wouldn' believe how worried I was. An' Kurt, too," he added at the end.

Rogue's eyes fell downcast at the mention of Kurt. It only reminded her of Raven and how she was gone, despite the wonderful memory of the picnic in her mind. "How is he doin'?"

Remy searched for the gentlest words. "Not too good." Alright, they weren't the best words, but what's wrong with being brutally honest?

"Ah figured… any word on mah Momma? Are they gonna bury her here?"

"I'm not sure, p'tite. It's been t'ree days." Quickly he glanced at the clock. "Maybe four by now. Dey may have already done it."

"Oh." Remy's hand squeezed hers delicately. "Where is he now?"

"Pro'bly upstairs. I c'n imagine he's bein' kinda secluded dese days."

"Yeah… Ah wanna see him."

Remy nodded, understanding completely. "He'll be happy t' know y' up," he said lightheartedly. He began warily looking for a communicator of some sort that Hank had to have had in there.

"Remy, wait."

"What's wrong, Rogue?"

_Rogue._ Being called that again sent comforting shivers down her spine. In the memory she was constantly called 'Beth'. She realized that moment that the little girl in the flowered shorts was a figment of the past. "Ah wanna tell ya somethin'."

When she paused for a moment, he whispered "go 'head."

"In mah head… it took me awhile ta realize that you weren't there. Ah mean… everyone else was. Ah had everyone's memories… but Ah didn't see yoahs. An' then… you came ta me like a rain." A smirk came to her face. "It was like we were one person." She looked him in the eyes. "An' then Ah remembered what ya said ta me… Back befoh in the buildin'…"

"I meant it, chere."

Her eyes glittered with even more green as if a flood of color rushed into them. "Ah just wanted ta make sure."

"Don't ever doubt it, Rogue." He remembered how when he was alone he had begun to doubt it himself, but seeing her awake and with him talking reminded him how much he needed her in his life. Just to show her, he gently lifted her hand, blanket and all, to his lips and kissed it.

She giggled again. "Ah wish Ah could hug y' right now."

"Yeah…de movin' t'ing jus' ain' possible at dis moment," he chuckled.

"Ah can wait."

"Rogue?" Came a voice from the door.

She turned to see her brother. "Kurt!"

He grinned a fang-filled grin and teleported over to her bedside. Within moments, his arms were wrapped around her tenderly in a warm embrace. "Thank God you're up."

"Ah missed you, too. Ah saw you an' Momma in mah head." Kurt pulled away from her for an explanation and she told him of the memory. By the tears that had come to his eyes, Rogue could tell he had relived the memory in his own mind as she replayed it for him. "Please don't cry, Kurt."

"It's just that… this has been so hard. Watching Mom die… and then sit here waiting for you to either wake up or just stay asleep forever… I thought I was going to lose both of you."

She smiled despite his words. "You would never lose me, Kurt." She mainly said the words to comfort him, but what if she hadn't felt Remy's presence in her mind? Would she have woken up? She was with Kurt technically… but the real world Kurt would be left completely without a family. And the thought of that was heart crumbling. "Ah'm sorry Ah had you so worried."

"Don't be sorry, Rogue," he murmured as he pulled her into a hug again. He was wary of any injuries that she may have had and the wires connected to her in doing so. "I'm just relieved that this bump is finally over. All that's left now is healing."

Rogue blinked back tears. _Healing._ _Momma's still dead… foh some reason Ah'd almost fohgotten._ A thought came to mind. "Victor's dead, ain't he? Ah remember someone tellin' me he was, but Ah was too worried about you an' Remy."

Kurt nodded against her hair. "He is. He's never going to hurt you again."

She bit her lip from crying out. "Finally?" she managed to whimper.

She felt Remy's hand enclose around hers again through the blanket. "Oui, chere. He's gone." She squeezed his hand and lay more against Kurt's embrace. A sound emitted from her mouth that was half giggle, half sob. But she said nothing. Kurt and Remy exchanged a quick glance that said that maybe it had finally gotten through to her that she was safe. Maybe the thought scared her. Both boys were thinking of how they had thought she would've been safe at the institute, and then this. Would Rogue ever feel completely safe?

Remy watched Kurt hold his sister, and could tell he never wanted to let go. _Dis_ _part of de story is over… but what now? Deir maman is dead… it's not like someone c'n smile an' say 'Hey, it'll be all right, p'tite',' an' Rogue'll be all great again. I know it doesn' work dat way. Hopefully now dat she's up, her and Kurt c'n begin t' heal t'get'er, because dat's what she really needs - what dey both need._

"Remy!"

_Uh-oh_, Remy thought with a chuckle. "Hey, Henri."

"Didn't you get my note- Rogue! You're up!" Hank bounced over to her bedside.

She smiled up to him with tears in her eyes. "Ah am." Kurt stepped back to allow Hank to examine her vitals. He walked over to the other side and stood next to Remy. Hank briefly asked Kurt to help Remy back to bed.

After the blue elf had done so, Remy allowed him to sit at the foot of the bed. "Y' gon' sleep in y' own room again t'night?" He asked with a smile.

Kurt returned the smile. "I think it's safe to say that Rogue needs two watchers tonight." They both thought back to Rogue and Remy's first day at the institute, when Rogue was unconscious due to the return of her memories.

"Dat was so long ago…" Remy reminisced randomly.

"Yeah. It's hard to imagine that you guys have already been here for four years, but then again, it seems like you've been here as long as I have, too."

Remy shrugged, and thankfully, it wasn't painful. "Dis is de first place dat ever felt like home. In de material sense."

"Not in the family sense?" Kurt asked with a smirk.

"I'd say it was de second."

Kurt nodded, and his eyes drifted back to his sister. Remy's glance followed Kurt's as well. "If you think about it, she's really the only person I've got left. And some days I feel like I barely know her." He looked back to Remy. "That's where I'm envious of you. You two share so much."

"I guess it's a good time t' start new. She's not gonna wan' dwell on dis, an' her trust is gon' need t' be built back up. I still t'ink an' even dough Victor's dead, she's still gon' hold dis fear in her heart forever."

"Sadly, I agree with you on that," Kurt sighed. "Everything just takes time though."

"Oui. It does."

Hank had finished his exam and left the boys with Rogue once again. He had no doubt gone to tell the others the news of her waking in person, so the med lab would be filled with the institute's students in no time.

Rogue was lying down on her side, facing the boys. Her anchors to the world. Smiling, she yawned. "Thanks, ya guys. It was nice ta wake up ta such familiar faces."

"Don't mention it," Kurt responded. "Did Hank tell you to get some real sleep now?"

"Yeah. Mah head's beginning ta hurt but he said that's normal."

Kurt got up from the bed and walked over to her side. He clasped her hand in his own through the blanket and bent down to give her a kiss on the top of her head. "Then sleep, Rogue. We'll make sure no one wakes you up." She nodded slowly, her eyes already fluttering shut. Before they made their final fall, she glanced to Remy and smiled briefly. He mouthed "good night" to her, and she was back in dreamland with her two Lego guardians of Kurt and Remy.

TBC…

Agh, I'm soooooooooooo sorry about the time it took on this… I don't even consider this the best work I could've written… but I really felt like you guys needed something to read, and I can work off of this. I really hope this isn't a whole bunch of nothing… so lemme know what you think! Once again, thank you two **everyone** who reviewed the last chapter: Coquine, gothic-rogue13, Neurotic Temptress, Randirogue, gaea, Christy S, Samman, ishandahalf, Lyra Silvertongue, Malena, T., ReeMarie, Furry Elf, Rynn, glaivegirl, mentallyINSANE, and Tago. Also to everyone else who's shy about reviewing and who read. Hehe. Also, as always, to Lilith for helping me smooth out the bumps when I asked for advice in the beginning and also for the tidbit about Rogue walking through her mind. You're the best chica!

And now, as always, review! Please? giggles


	23. An Attempt at Normal

Street Livin' 

Chapter 23

_Day 1563_

_I can't believe this is the first time Ah've written in here in a week. Over a week, really. Time moves too fast, I guess. Or maybe I just spent too much time sleeping. That's definitely a possibility._

_Considering everything, the last week of my life hasn't been utterly horrible as anyone would expect it to be. Me, Remy and Kurt are closer than ever now. Even though Remy was released from the Med lab a couple days ago, he'd still be down to visit me nonstop. And Kurt… I think he's scared that he'll lose me, too. He hasn't been going to school and probably won't go back for a couple more weeks. He spends a lot of time at church now… probably talking to Momma in his spiritual sort of way, which I just don't understand. He goes most of the time during my "routine naps". Sometimes I would sleep on my own and other times… it would be different._

_The different times would be when the professor would come in and do a quick spring cleaning of my mind. He would pretty much clean up all the extra debris that was left over that night so as "not to cause me unneeded stress". I don't know what he does, but eventually I'll find out. And to think I sometimes wonder why I don't fully trust him. _

_They really think I'm oblivious, too. I know what's going on with me. I can feel it inside me… sort of coursing through my veins and throbbing through my head when I'm trying to sleep. After the professor is done doing his cleaning thing, he puts me to sleep so my mind can heal on its own. It just really aggravates me and now I'm happy that I'm officially not a patient anymore so I don't have to go through that anymore. _

_I can't wait to build my shields again. I took them for granted after I built them, and now that they're gone, I feel so vulnerable against people like the professor. And now add that he's been in my head twice everyday for the last four days. It's just… unnerving and I hate that feeling._

_I better go. Remy should be done his first training session since… yeah, soon anyway and I haven't even showered yet. And I did promise Nathan that I would go to "the party" especially since he said that he made Scott buy the Hot Wheels plates. The things I agree to when little boys are about to cry._

_Rogue_

------

"C'mon, yer not givin' up on me yet, are ya?" Logan partially teased as Remy took another breather. He and Logan had turned the danger room into a track and field gymnasium equipped with a work out station with weights and other exercise equipment. Remy had just finished a quarter-mile sprint and now he was bent over with his hands on his knees, panting.

"I've… done not'in but… lay in bed f'r a week wit critical… injuries, mon ami." He took a deep breath. "Don' give me dat bullshit," he smirked to lighten the mood of his statement.

"I was only kiddin' in the first place, Gumbo." However, Logan didn't smile in return. Remy noticed something different about the feral man. Well, he was still being Logan: quiet with the occasional barked order when Remy was to change exercises. There was definitely a difference though. No doubt it was his empathy on overdrive thanks to the blood pumping through his veins that picked up on Logan's oddness.

It was a wonderful feeling for Remy though. He felt so utterly alive again; his spatial awareness was running on its highest level and his empathy made him acknowledge everything that everyone was doing. Faintly people outside the danger room filtered into his senses (like up in the control room where Hank and Charles stood by). Mainly he felt himself and Logan. It was so revitalizing to be in tune with everything and everyone again – not overwhelming like he thought the experience would have been.

"Yer takin' too long," Logan grunted. Remy then realized that he had long ago caught his breath but was still hunched over.

"Do y' mind if we take a water break?" Logan snorted, but agreed to the break. Although the man had a healing factor, the 'Wolverine' still needed to replenish his body's lost water.

Remy plopped down on the backless bench along the track while Logan remained standing. He accepted the water Remy handed him and drank heartily. Remy then took the time to read, more like graze or skim over Logan's emotions. He felt traces of restlessness, anger, more or less what could be described as confusion, which in turn confused Remy. There was also exhaustion, but it wasn't physical.

"Are y' feelin' okay dese days, Logan?"

Logan stopped drinking his water. "I think if yer talkin' about how you an' Rogue have been in the med lab for the last week, I think I'm doin' pretty good."

"I didn' mean that." Logan only stared at him. It was a neutral stare – not like a deer caught in headlights, nor angry. "I remember de day dat I woke up an' Kurt was talkin' t' me."

"He's been actin' strange himself."

"But him I c'n understand why," Remy responded before continuing. "He told me about how y' found him outside wit' his maman in his arms." Remy took a breath to continue and he could sense Logan beginning to tighten up. "He said y' were cryin'…"

"I don't wanna talk about this, Gumbo. We need to finish workin' out."

"But-"

"No. We've wasted too much time just sittin' on our asses. Get up." With that, Logan turned away and started to walk over to the exercise equipment.

Remy stood up and followed him. "Why won' y' talk about it?" Logan didn't answer him. "Logan?"

He whipped around and glared at Remy with cold brown eyes. "Yer not my fuckin' shrink. Don't ask me questions that aren't any of yer business." His tone was low and even. The words were full of promise of physical harm, though Remy knew Logan wouldn't do anything. Nonetheless, Remy took a step back and nodded.

"Sorry."

Logan grunted another reply and pointed to the hand weights. "Start strengthening up yer arms."

"Logan… I don' t'ink I c'n do anymore t'day. We've been here f'r how long?"

"Only forty-five minutes."

_Dammit_… _it feels like it's been two hours at least._ "C'n I stop anyway?"

Logan's lips began curling into another snarl, but was halted by Xavier's voice booming over the danger room's loud speaker. "Remy, Rogue's been released from the med lab. As planned, we're going to throw a party for both of your healthy recoveries. Why don't you go wash up and be ready to see everyone?"

Remy turned to Logan, who nodded reluctantly. "Ya can go. I wanna see her too." Remy smiled and ran out of the room in record time. "Now he's movin'," Logan muttered, rolling his eyes.

Remy showered as quickly as he could without slipping on the wet tile. Rogue coming out of the med lab was a huge deal, especially to him. Sure, he'd seen her every day since his release – he'd even had breakfast with her that day (as he did everyday). This was monumental, however, because it was a step towards her healing. Physically, she was technically fine – though there was still the question of whether her powers had been affected because of what Victor had injected into her. Hank worked with her blood samples whenever he had spare time (and Hank being the devoted doctor that he was, _made_ spare time for himself).

Unfortunately, the only conclusion he could come to was that her DNA was, in fact mutated. While it had taken no physical manifestation on her, there was no telling whether her powers were affected and if they were, there was no way to tell how they would be different exactly.

Remy sighed as he dried off and threw on his street clothes. He knew all of this and it worried him sick. Rogue had enough trouble and toil on her plate already. She had told him about the picnic memory in detail one day, so she had a little bit of time to deal with her mother's passing, but that was about it. She'd been stuck in bed for the last week and a half, recovering from her physical fatigue and partially from her mental breakdown, since there was no way she could fully recover from that one on her own.

He hated calling it a breakdown, because she was usually so strong. Although he didn't see her when she did 'explode' since he was blind at the moment, he had this horrible image of something that could've been easily ripped from a sci-fi movie: her white and auburn hair flailing, eyes glowing with powers that weren't hers… just all in all pure energy was cracking off of her. After imagining that sequence in his mind over and over again, he knew she had snapped.

Just thinking of that final sight of her again made his eyes glitter with tears. He blinked them back and rubbed his face roughly. "Wake up, Remy," he murmured aloud as he lifted his face to the mirror. His hair fell haphazardly and wet against his skin. Smirking, he thought to himself about the time he told Rogue he was going to grow his hair out...

"You're not serious, are ya? You're gonna look like a girl!" Rogue's gloved fingers flipped at the tips of Remy's shaggy hair. The fourteen-year-old giggled brightly as she imagined him with longer hair. He had long hair when they met, but it had been quickly cut off when Betsy discovered split ends about two weeks after they moved in. She took it upon herself to keep it trimmed properly. He attributed it to the fact that Warren wasn't always around to keep her company. It was cute at first, but it frankly he was tired of it. She finally left him alone when he turned seventeen.

"I don' see why I can'. It'll look cool."

"You're just silly."

He smirked. "Maybe I'm jus' jealous of y' long hair." He tugged at her wavy auburn locks, which at that time were up in a high ponytail. Normally her hair would have fallen at about the middle of her back.

"Yeah raht. Mah hair's a mess half the time Ah try ta do anythin' with it!" She twirled a white strand out of habit.

"Nah, y' hair is fun."

"Not raht now it isn't. The only reason Ah haven't cut it foh the summer is because Ah have emotional detachment issues," she joked in a matter of fact tone, though they both knew it was true. "Why would ya wanna start growin' it now? It's startin' ta get really hot."

He shrugged. "I'm sick of people tellin' me what t' do, especially wit' somet'in' as simple as m'hair. I mean, I'm gon' be 18 in less dan seven months. People should start knowin' dat."

"That's true. Somehow that had slipped mah mind," Rogue said softly.

Remy knew that she was lying, but didn't make any note of it verbally. "What do y' t'ink I should do wit' it den?"

"Hmm… Ah thought ya didn't want anyone tellin' ya what ta do with it?" she giggled.

"I be askin' for y' trusted opinion, chere. Dat's different an' y' know it," he snickered.

"If ya put it that way then… lemme see." She stood up from the ground of the basketball court and walked around to look at the back of his head. Her violet sundress flapped in the late spring breeze as her fingers began pushing his hair this way and that.

"Not so rough!" he mock-cried as she played with the coppery-brown strands.

"Sit still then!" She smacked him gently and he was still. "Ah don't know, sugah. There's not much ya can do with this mop ya call hair."

"An' y' hair is so much better?"

She stopped playing with his hair so she could bend down to look him in the face, remnants of a fake pout apparent on hers. "Ah thought ya said mah hair was fun." She made her lip tremble for more effect.

He turned away, crossing his arms over his chest. "Dat was b'fore y' insulted mine."

"You can't change yoah opinion just like that!"

"Watch me." Without her seeing, he fought an oncoming smirk off his face.

"That's not fair an' you know it!" She was nothing short of regressing to stomping her feet when Remy turned to face her with the biggest grin on his face.

"Y' know I'm only messin' around. Dere's gotta be somet'in' t' do wit' my hair dough."

She began fussing with the forelocks on his head. "Yeah… hmm… it would be so much easier if ya would just shave it all off…" Her eyes lit up. "Or ya could do somethin' else!" She grabbed his hand with her black lace gloved hand and hoisted him up. "C'mon!"

From that moment on, almost eight months before, Remy had the under layer of his hair shaved, thanks to Rogue. The look did suit him. He had to admit to himself though; when Rogue came after him with his electric razor, he was just a tad frightened. But she calmed him down with her soothing Southern accent and then just shaved off half of his hair. When she was done, he had a layer of hair long enough to tie in a ponytail, but the rest of it was gone.

"Now, see, that isn't feminine at all," Rogue grinned, dusting off her dress. Remy examined her handy work in the mirror in front of him.

"Not bad, p'tite." He turned to smile at her. "Not bad at all."

Satisfied with his appearance, he grinned at his reflection and left the shower room.

Rogue sideways glanced out her bedroom window, somehow remembering the same memory about Remy's hair. In the midst of throwing clothes everywhere, she'd found that violet sundress and the memory flashed in her mind. She smiled softly to herself, happy that it was indeed her memory, and no one else's.

She also noted that it had snowed a bit since the last time she'd had the chance to look out a window. She had just gotten out of the shower, leaving her waist length hair in a towel dried mess down her back.

"Ugh," she sighed, throwing another shirt across the room. "Ah need somethin' ta wear!" She looked around her room, noticing there was a piece of clothing on every piece of furniture and every possible flat surface. One her bed, a black blouse lay near a shimmering, silk red tank top. Rogue grinned. "Betsy always gives me the best clothes," she realized, remembering that the psychic had taken her shopping a few months before.

She walked across her room, tiptoeing through the path of tossed about clothes. She reached across the bed to retrieve the shirts, but when she picked them up, she knocked her golden angel bear off with a swish of the clothing. "Oops," she giggled to no one as she bent down to pick it up. She gave it a quick squeeze before replanting it on the bed. She began to stand up with the shirts but stopped mid motion. She looked to the bear with the golden wings quizzically. "Where's yoah partner in crime?"

Of course, the bear did not answer.

"Why isn't it here?" She dropped the shirts and fell to her knees to search under the bed. She pushed random boxes aside and saw a glimmer of pink. Grinning she snatched the stuffed bear by the wing and cradled it against her body. Without thinking or looking, she reached under her pillow and felt for her photograph. The edge of the small photo brushed against her wandering hand. Quickly, but delicately, she gathered it in her hand and pulled it out so she could see it.

Her mother. A princess, blonde and glowing. Funny how she found it hard to connect that face with the blue woman that died in her arms over a week before. Her index finger traced the face of the blonde princess before her, her eyes drifting down to her younger self from eleven years before. Her lip began to quiver as she realized – finally – what she had lost. "Momma…" she whispered before a sob took control of her body. Once the first one came, an onslaught of tears followed. She needed release. She wanted to scream. So she did.

Remy assumed Rogue would be in her room, since while in the med lab, she had constantly told him that she couldn't wait to clean herself up in her own shower with her shampoo and special body wash – what she considered special anyway. Remy didn't understand the 'special' meaning and figured it was a girl thing.

He was on his way to her room when he heard a piercing shriek. _I know dat voice_, he realized gravely. He quickly checked around the hall to see if anyone else had heard it, but no one was present at all – most likely all down at the party. Remy picked up his pace, close to sprinting to reach her room.

"Chere?" he called through the door. He heard her sobbing loudly, but other than that, there was no response directed to him. He opened the door and ran in, the sobs not tapering at all. "Rogue?"

He found her on the floor on the side of her bed facing the window. She was curled into a ball, her half-dried hair curling and knotting wildly as she lay writhing in a towel.

Acting reflexively, he yanked the top blanket off her bed and used it as a barrier between them as he lifted her off the floor. Gently, he pulled her into his lap. Throughout the motion, she didn't cease in crying at all, but dropped the photo and bear so she could clutch onto Remy's shirt.

"Oh mah gawd, Ah miss her so much," Remy heard between her broken sobs.

"I know, chere," he whispered into her hair, rocking her back and forth gently. "I know."

"Ah don't understand… Ah mean," she gulped down her sobs, her breaths still shaky and shallow.

"Shh… tell me later. Y' gon' hyperventilate if y' try t' talk."

She nodded and then welcomed the comfort of his shoulder. He continued rocking her slowly, his eyes drifting to the photograph. He hadn't seen it in over four years. Hell, he didn't even know Rogue still had it. He thought that she had found some way to dispose of it, although he was happy to see that she hadn't. He knew that she missed her mother before "the incident" – he could feel it everyday. It was like a melancholy drop in her puddle of happiness, forever lingering.

She sniffled loudly, trying to compose herself. "Ah'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't worry 'bout it, chere. I knew dis would happen eventually," he responded, giving her a quick hug before resuming his rocking motion.

"Do ya know where Kurt is?" she asked, her voice soft and quiet.

"He had some t'ings t' take care of before de party."

"Ah don't know if Ah wanna go…" she sighed. "But Ah don't wanna make Nathan cry."

"He tried de pouty t'ing on y' too?"

She half-heartedly giggled. "Of course. He always does."

"It's dat damn Jean," he joked.

She laughed again briefly. "Yeah." Her face fell as her eyes once again found the photo.

"Hey," Remy said, turning her face to him by covering his index finger with the blanket and pressing it to her chin. She gasped softly at his touch, becoming slightly embarrassed by the involuntary reaction, even if the contact was through cloth. "I know dis is gon' be hard f'r y'. Both of y' parents are gone now an' y' know, it's jus' hard." He scowled. "I've never been good wit' dis inspirational talk."

Rogue nodded. "Thank you, though Ah know what you're sayin'… it jus' takes time."

He nodded in response as well. "Y' ready t' get dressed now?" he smirked.

Her cheeks turned bright red when she realized how close to naked she was underneath the blanket and towel. "Yeah… can ya grab me a pair of jeans?"

He smiled again as he hoisted her and himself up in one fluid movement and placed her on the bed. Then he picked up a pair of tattered and worn jeans off the foot of the bed. "How's dese?"

"Dey're fine," she smiled, mimicking his accent perfectly. "Can Ah have a li'l privacy?"

"I haven't decided yet," he smirked once again.

Another blush formed on her pale cheeks. _Since he told me he loved me, does he think this is okay? Is it okay? Am Ah obligated ta do stuff like this?_

"Chere, I was jus' kiddin'. Don't get worked up." He bent down and kissed her head through a thin lock of white hair. "I'll wait f'r y' outside."

She shivered under his subtle touch, feeling exposed both physically and mentally. Somehow she'd forgotten about his empathy. "Okay," she murmured, keeping her head down so he couldn't see her prominent blush, regardless of whether he could feel it.

When she did manage to look up, she came face to face with his everlasting smile. That simple expression completely disarmed her panic system… suddenly she felt so completely relaxed. She found herself hopelessly gazing at that perfect smile and longed to just get up and kiss him like she'd seen in so many movies and that she'd observed from everyone else like Jean and Scott, Bobby and Kitty, even Remy with Sarah (from their memories).

Luckily, Remy showed no notion that he knew that she was thinking that. "I'll see y' in a few." He stood up and briskly walked out of the room, the smile never faltering one bit. However, when he stepped outside her room and shut the door, he breathed out, trying to relax. He felt every emotion of Rogue's as if it were a ripple in a lake or an echo in a cave to a bat. He never realized that before he would flirt with her but that time he realized it. And, in a way, he almost felt sickened by it. Yes, he loved her. He couldn't imagine living without her ever and every part of her personality just made him smile. But now he was thinking should he be cautious with the way he acted. Perhaps he'd said the words too prematurely in the heat of the moment. Maybe he wasn't ready for that type of level for their friendship?

"Merde," he mumbled to himself. From what he had observed, Rogue had taken their exchanged confessions to heart, big time. Not that he blamed her, since it definitely meant something to him too, but were they both capable of such a thing? What if it wasn't real love and they were just expressing their need of each other's forever friendship? What if one was, and the other meant it romantically?

_Merde_, he muttered to himself, this time mentally. _I had t' go an' make t'ings so much more complex… I don' wanna say I regret sayin' dat t' her, but what if it was jus' a reflex t' say dat?_

He was about ready to pull his hair out at his incoherent mental ramblings, but Rogue's door opened behind him. "Ready ta go?" She asked softly as he turned around. She was wearing the jeans he had picked up, plus a simple long black sleeve t-shirt with matching gloves.

"Sure." He extended his arm out to her which she happily took. "I tol' y' your hair has more white," he teased, observing her hair up in a simple messy ponytail. She left a lot of strands hanging around her face, a majority of them white. With how the rest of it was pulled back, white prominently showed on the top of her head. He noted that she hadn't bothered with any makeup, except for a small touch of gloss on her lips.

"Shut up," she giggled, though mentally she knew it was true. Her much earlier assumptions had been correct about how her white locks of hair came to be and the recent incident had only brought on more trauma. "At this rate, Ah'll have more white hair than Jean when she turns 60. That is… if she doesn't dye it until she's 80."

"She colors her hair?" Remy asked, astonished.

Rogue tapped her temple proudly. "Next ta you, she's the person Ah've absorbed most because she would lend me her psychic powers for our sessions. There's not much that Ah _don't_ know about her."

"Merde. How much else y' know? Me an' you could start a blackmailin' business," he grinned.

"Enough ta bring the institute down, sugah," she laughed. "ya say that as if Ah didn't have anythin' on you."

"But, chere," he pouted, placing his free hand on top of hers that was secured in his arm. "Y wouldn' do somet'in' t' hurt dis poor t'ief, would y'?"

"Ah dunno," she said, smiling and avoiding his puppy eyes. She finally met them when she could keep the smile off her face. "Of course Ah couldn't. Ah could never hurt ya… purposely, Ah mean, because…" she glanced to her hands. "Accidents do happen."

"I know." He stopped walking suddenly before the corner that led to the steps. "An' I wish I could say de same f'r y'… but I know I hurt y'…"

"Remy, don't," Rogue pleaded. "Don't bring it up." He looked at her quizzically. "Ah just can't deal… with 'us' raht now." She let go of his arm so she could face him. "Ah mean…"

"Y' got too much on y' head already?"

"Yeah… that's it," she swallowed the breath she was holding down her throat. As Remy had been confused about the confessions, Rogue's head was swimming with so much more. She just figured one step at a time was the best way to take things. And right now getting over her mother's death was priority. Also, if she was preoccupied herself with that for an undetermined amount of time, she wouldn't have to concern herself with the confusion with Remy and her feelings for him.

"Hey, Rogue?"

"Yeah, Remy?" She placed her arm in his once again.

"We're still… friends, right?"

She smiled. He never sounded that small and so completely unsure – ever. It was really, well, cute to her. "Of course we are." She hugged his arm against herself. "If Ah'm anythin' ta you, ever, it'll be yoah friend."

He smirked. "Bon, chere." That simple statement lifted the huge boulder of confusion off his chest. It gave him a new boost of confidence. "Let's go, den."

"Yeah. Let's," she grinned, allowing him to lead her around the corner and to the top of the stairs.

"They're coming!" They heard Nathan cry, his footsteps retreating from the base of the stairs, no doubt into the arms of Scott or Jean. Another bright smile graced Rogue's face as she and Remy started descending the steps, greeted by applause. It felt weird to see everyone again, even though she'd seen them all over the last week. It had been too long since she felt… a belonging to these people. She knew these people cared for Remy and her and their well beings, but there was something different about having them all collected in the living room and waiting on them to come down. And they didn't want to do anything except… be there for her and Remy. The support they were willing to give her just lifted her heart. Somehow it worried her with everyone caring so much… would they take the place of her mother and fill the void in her heart? Granted, they had been her family for the past four years when she thought she hated her mother, but she couldn't help but feel guilty.

_Stop bein' selfish_, said a voice. _Ya_ _know these people care 'botu ya so jus' go with it. Have fun._

Rogue smiled to herself. _Ah really need ta chill out. Ah'm such a drama queen._

Remy felt a wave of relief wash over Rogue and turned to her before they took a step down. "Y' okay?"

"Ah'm great now."

The party was fully underway in a matter of minutes. Remy couldn't believe the amount of people there – it was like every mutant he's met in the last four years happened to be present. A few humans were there too – some associates or friends of Xavier's and friends of the other students at the institute that were either alumni or were attending other schools besides Xavier's.

"Jubilee!" Rogue squealed as she let go of Remy's arm. The two girls collided in a big hug.

Once they pulled apart, Jubilee took in Rogue's appearance. "You look great!" She flipped Rogue's long ponytail. "And you grew yer hair out too? Awesome!" She glanced back to the abandoned but smiling Remy and waved. He waved back, grinning wider.

Jubilee had decided to go to school on the west coast in Los Angeles where she was originally from before Xavier found her. After she moved over to the west, she'd occasionally visit every now and then, but she otherwise was never at the mansion anymore. She, too, had grown her hair out, but her jet-black hair only reached about three-fourths down her back. She was still the bubblegum popping mall rat everyone knew though, even though she had changed dramatically besides that. Her style was more exotic that went great with her Asian ethnicity.

Remy was about to step towards the two girls except he suddenly felt someone jump on his back. It could only be one person. "Hey, Sarah," he smiled. He realized that he'd been unconsciously avoiding her since the night of the incident. His smile hid his awkwardness to everyone else, but once she climbed off his back and looked him in the eyes, she knew better.

However, she smiled in return, running a hand through her spiky pink hair. "How've ya been?"

"Pretty good, great now dough. It's great t' see her movin'," he said, referring obviously to Rogue.

"That _is_ great. I can't believe the turnout for the part."

"Me neither." They both stood silent for a second, the awkwardness now unavoidable.

"Listen, 'bout that night… remember what I said… about choosin' between the two of us…"

"Sarah, please."

"No… lemme get this out. I just figured that you wouldn't be comfortable with the way we were anymore, but I would still really like to be friends."

Remy stared at her, unblinking for a moment. She was asking him for exactly what he wanted. He wouldn't be able to handle a purely physical relationship anymore, and it would be nice to get to know that magenta hair punk better without the use of sex.

He reached for her hand, and once he had it securely, he pulled her into a hug. "Merci, Sarah."

"Don't mention it," she whispered in his ear. She planted a soft kiss on his check and pulled away. "I'll let you go. Later, Cajun." She walked away, not turning back at all and disappearing into the rec room. Remy watched her leave and once she was gone, he turned to Rogue who was still chatting amicably with Jubilee and also Kitty and Paige. Rogue saw him and smiled brightly. He grinned in return and walked over to join the conversation.

Time passed and soon dinner was ready. Rogue gratefully piled mashed potatoes and fried chicken onto her plate. She found a seat in the dining room next to Kurt and kept the one on the other side of her empty for Remy. Her brother had gotten home an hour or so before, and since he walked in the door, he wouldn't let Rogue out of his sight.

"Ah'm fine, Kurt," she had insisted for the fifth time since he'd gotten to the party. "Mah head is fine. Mah body is fine. _Ah'm_ fine."

"I know… I'm sorry for asking." He took a bite of his carrots.

She was silent for a moment. "It's okay, Kurt. Ah know how you're feelin'. Ah jus' don't wanna be this li'l fragile girl," she responded finally in a small voice. "Ah was released from the Med lab because Ah'm better. Ah actually can't wait till Ah can start trainin' an' takin' classes again."

Kurt finished chewing his carrots. "Do you know if anything's wrong with your powers?" He had avoided this topic for the last five days, but since she had insisted all was well, he couldn't help but let his curiosity take over.

She was halfway through a forkful of mashed potatoes when he asked. She stopped for a miniscule second and then continued to chew slowly afterwards. Once she swallowed, she replied, "I don't know." It seemed like her plate had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world since it was all she was staring at. "Ah'm gonna test them tomorrow," she whispered. "Xavier an' Hank don't want me ta do anythin' without their supervision, but this is somethin' Ah've gotta do on mah own." She said it all with her eyes never faltering from the plate. However, her voice held so much determination and stubbornness that Kurt knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind.

So instead, he responded, "I'll be your test."

She blinked and looked up to meet his eyes. That moment was one of those times she wished Kurt had pupils. It was scary how much emotion he held in those solid golden eyes but then she loved that most about him. She actually wanted to test Remy's powers first since he had a small degree of telepathic powers with his empathy, but there was no way she could say no to Kurt in that state.

Kurt smiled softly. "Great."

At that moment, Remy sat down with a full plate of every spicy thing there was that night. Since it was a party in his and Rogue's honor, gumbo had been in the buffet. Remy, being the nostalgic sort, helped himself to a small bowl along with his other food. He had convinced a couple other people to try it as well. Some people liked it, some didn't. _Oh well_, Remy had thought as he sat down.

He glanced briefly to Rogue and Kurt. "What's up?"

Rogue smiled. "You got gumbo."

"Oui."

"You told me about it before. Is it as good as the real thing?"

He held a spoonful out to her. "Try it," he insisted.

Hesitantly, she sipped the spoonful. Her face contorted and she quickly pulled away. "Umm… it's real good, Rem…" Behind her, Kurt was snickering.

"Hey, Elf," Remy filled the spoon again and held it out to Kurt. "Y' turn."

As the spoon came dangerously close to Kurt's face, the blue mutant smirked and laughed "no way" before disappearing in a cloud of pink smoke. Rogue giggled with glee as Kurt reappeared behind Remy, making silly faces.

Remy turned and poised the spoon for launch. "Remy, don't!" Rogue warned, hardly containing her giggles.

"Do you really think you can hit me?" Kurt taunted. All the other people present took no notice of the playful fight. This sort of thing happened all the time. Xavier actually encouraged it since it allowed the mutants to practice their powers in a more natural environment instead of refraining them to the Danger Room.

Remy grinned. "I can guess where y'll go next, mon ami," he bluffed flawlessly. Kurt knew of Remy's heightened spatial awareness, but could he actually pinpoint where Kurt would reappear?

_What if he could?_ Kurt asked himself. _Only one way to find out…_ "Try me, Cajun."

_Dammit_, Remy thought harshly but his face didn't change from his cocky smile. He further poised the spoon, holding it at a slight angle towards Kurt with his left hand while his right index finger readied to catapult the gumbo.

Kurt got ready to teleport at a moment's notice. Rogue sat watching them both, hands covering her mouth. Remy was turned towards Kurt, ready to fire. It was like a scene out of a crazy western… with less guns and more eating utensils.

The next few moments were in slow motion for Remy. He felt Kurt begin to teleport as the sulfur scent wafted through his nerves. He had to get this somewhat on target or Kurt would call his bluff and hold it against him for who knows how long. He closed his eyes, solely depending on his powers to help him out. In a split second, Kurt was gone. Remy could feel his presence coming back to him… right behind him! With lightning speed, Remy twisted in his seat and fired the gumbo without a second thought.

Unfortunately for Remy, he heard the snickering of Kurt higher than he had aimed. Slowly, Remy opened his eyes, only to be staring at a steaming Emma Frost. The gumbo splatter on her previously pristine white cashmere sweater matched the newfound redness on her face.

"You little mongrel…" she hissed through clenched teeth. Rogue was frozen next to Remy, caught between a gasp and a giggle. Emma glared with such intensity that Remy could see diamonds forming in her irises. Cold, dark, and full of threat diamonds. The whole room slowly stopped, the attention of everyone turning to either Remy or Emma. Kurt still hung from the chandelier, afraid to even let his tail droop in the cross fire.

"Do somethin'," Rogue whispered from behind her hands. Remy didn't break eye contact with Emma though. Rogue looked up to Kurt instead. Their eyes met instantaneously and Rogue began motioning her eyes wildly. She pointed to him, then to the ground between her and Remy and then to the door as best she could without moving her head.

Kurt's eyes went wide as if to say "no, it won't work."

Her eyebrows rose, pleading. _What Ah'd give foh telepathy raht now._

He sighed, relenting. He blinked once towards Emma, telling Rogue that the telepath could easily freeze them with a single thought.

Rogue glared and blinked towards Emma. _She has diamonds on the tips of her hair_, she wanted to say.

Kurt quickly glimpsed towards Emma and saw her diamond shell extending through her hair slowly. Everyone knew Emma's telepathy was disabled when she was in diamond form. What confused Rogue, Kurt and Remy though, was why she was turning into diamond? She could easily pin Remy with his damaged mental shields… Emma could take any of them out with ease.

Remy felt the non-verbal discussion taking place, but then he couldn't take his eyes off Emma. She was genuinely upset about the sweater, but something told Remy it wasn't just for the expense of it.

"Emma?" Practically everyone's head turned towards the dining room entrance where Emma's husband, Shinobi, stood.

Emma said nothing, but the anger fell from her eyes. It finally made sense to Remy. The sweater had most likely been a gift from him – the sentimental value far exceeded the price tag. It was something he thought he would never feel from Emma with all his past experience with her.

Remy stood up – everyone's head turn again. "Emma… I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely.

The diamond crinkled out of her hair and Remy could feel her telepathy reaching over across the table. He believed she wanted to check for his sincerity.

"…It's okay…" she whispered, Shinobi now by her side.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," Shinobi said in a low voice as he helped her up. "It's not that big a deal," he soothed.

"But this was the first thing you ever bought me…" she whispered.

"It's okay, it's just a sweater," he insisted as he wrapped an arm around her and led her out of the room. The dining room remained silent before random discussions popped up again.

Kurt finally teleported down from the chandelier. "I think it's safe to say she's changed for the better," he said, sighing.

"That was really the first time Ah've seen her in a year. Ah can't believe how much she's changed."

"Maybe Shinobi's doin' somet'in' right," snickered Remy. Quickly, while the elf was off guard, Remy managed to grab his spoon and catapult gumbo onto Kurt's face. This time, there was no drawn out duels, no turned faces. Just Kurt with spattered gumbo on his face. There was that, and of course, Remy with a triumphant grin.

Giggling, Rogue wished everyday could be as carefree as that moment. She knew otherwise though. Her head began to throb, right at her temples. Gently, she rubbed one of them as she took a sip of water.

"Y' okay?" Remy asked as he handed Kurt a napkin.

"Yeah. Ah'll be fine. Just a bit of a headache." Remy and Kurt shared a quick glance before looking at Rogue again. "Ah'm fine!" She all but screamed. "Nothin' is wrong with me, dammit!"

"Now I know something's up. You never curse," Kurt pointed out.

"Well, y'all're drivin' me insane! There's nothin' wrong with me. Ya want me ta say that Ah know my blood's messed up an' that it's gonna affect mah powers? That mah head is just waitin' ta explode because Ah'm so fragile because Ah went insane a week ago! What do ya want me ta say?" Once again, the attention of everyone in the dining room had once again centered on the three of them.

"Chere… calm down. Y' know we didn' mean it like dat."

"We're just worried about you. Is that so wrong?"

"Not when Ah feel this strangled," she stated, more calmly, though they both knew she wasn't feeling any better. "If ya wanna help me, get me some aspirin or somethin'."

Remy nodded, standing up to go find Hank in order to find something suitable to give her. However, it seems that someone had notified him and Xavier of her sudden outburst, as they were on their way into the dining room.

"Rogue, let's go find you something for that headache," Hank said softly.

However, Rogue became defensive immediately. "You're not puttin' me back in the Med lab foh another week." Then she pointed at Xavier. "And **_you're_** not goin' back in mah head."

"Rogue, I didn't say I was going to do such a thing."

"Ah know that look!" She looked to Kurt. "Get me outta here."

"Rogue…"

"Do it!"

Torn, Kurt looked between her and the professor and Hank. To Rogue, he was apparently taking too much time. She ripped off her glove and smacked it against Kurt's face. She felt his power surge into her – somehow it was different this time. She felt so… alive again. Like she had control.

Once she felt that she'd taken enough, which was only a matter of seconds, she gave Remy a quick apologetic look and then glanced to the now unconscious Kurt sadly. She quickly got over her guilt for the moment and teleported away.

"Somet'in' tells me dat wasn' a good t'ing," Remy said, stating the obvious to the baffled Xavier and Hank.

TBC…


	24. Nothing Matters But Trust

Street Livin' 

Chapter 24

Rogue could feel Kurt hit the ground in her head as she teleported to Ororo's loft. She knew the others would've tried looking for her in either her room or Remy's first. The roof or anywhere outside would've been too cold since she wasn't wearing any socks or shoes. The early February snow would've just been _slightly_ too cold for her. Ororo's loft was the place she could go and expect complete solitude until she wanted to be found.

Her head swam with Kurt's thoughts, his power, his body attributes… That part was new. She felt as if a prehensile tail wanted to poke out of her jeans. Frightened, she found a mirror among the many plants and examined her bottom. Luckily, she felt no writhing bump underneath her pants. Just to be sure, she checked her eyes, ears, teeth, anything that would've made her look like Kurt.

Sighing with relief when she found nothing, she sat down on Ororo's bed and tried to sort out her head. She could sense things through his eyes almost – more than she could before. Right now though, he was still unconscious by the table, Hank preparing to take him to the Med lab.

After she sensed that, she began feeling Xavier searching for her. With a snarl, she began building her walls. She knew they wouldn't be perfect without the aid of some sort of psychic powers that she would have to borrow eventually, but they would be shields nonetheless. Once she felt secure, she lay back on the bed and continued to process the images and thoughts in her head.

Kurt was still upset about their mother, no doubt, but it was more than he let on. With her eyes closed, Rogue envisioned him from the night before, by his bed praying and talking to their mother.

"_I miss you,"_ he had said, small streams flowing from his golden eyes.

With a second thought, Rogue was there with him. _"Ah'm sorry,"_ she told the Kurt in the memory. _"Ah didn't mean ta hurt ya when Ah touched ya."_ All her guilt from the minutes before poured out, even though the Kurt in the memory couldn't hear to see her and wished only for their mother.

Slightly jealous over the lack of attention, even though she couldn't figure out why, Rogue thought long and hard about their mother. Determined, she remembered back on that fateful night how she had taken her mother into her. She refused to let that final fragment leave her. She couldn't have let Xavier take that away from her during one of his cleaning sessions.

Then she was there. Raven was there. Rogue extended her hand and grabbed a hold of her mother gently and pulled her into a hug. _"Don't let Kurt forget,"_ she whispered into Rogue's ear. Rogue nodded and held her mother tighter. Then she felt strange, as if she was melting.

"_Momma?"_ she called out. The sensation reflexively made her close her eyes.

"Don't be afraid. This is the best way I could be with you forever – to give you a piece of me to last."

"_Ah'm scared though."_ Her voice had become small and frightened. _"Ah can't help it._"

"I will help you, Beth. Just let me."

Rogue nodded shakily and shut her eyes even tighter. In a minute moment, she was solid again. But her arms were empty. She looked to her hands.

Blue.

She blinked. Without thinking, she fingered her hair. It was still waist length, but it was straighter. _"…What?"_

Kurt was still praying, so Rogue once again moved in front of him. _"Kurt?"_

He looked up and connected eyes with her. _"Mom?"_

She blinked again. _"Okay. Too weird."_ And then she woke up out of her trance. "Umm…" she shifted, feeling a lump underneath her butt. She rolled over, noticing the bump squirming about. "You've gotta be kiddin' me." Sighing, she got up from the bed and found the mirror she used before. When she saw her reflection, she didn't know whether to scream or faint.

------

Hank carried Kurt off with everyone watching again. Kitty was especially worried as they were best friends. She insisted upon dragging Bobby to go with her down to the Med lab with Hank.

Remy stood in silence, unsure of what to do next. Rogue was gone, obviously, so there was the matter of finding her. Xavier was in the process of scanning the area psychically, but when he let out a final sigh, Remy knew the professor hadn't found her anywhere.

"Did she build her shields at all with you, Remy?" he asked, his eyebrows knit in thought.

"Not in de last week, non. Kurt was de first one she absorbed since dat night an' she usually needs a psychic t' build dem."

"Usually?"

Remy shrugged. "Anyt'in' could be possible now, I t'ink."

"Hmm… this is true. Any place she could have gone?"

"Her room, my room… y' don' t'ink she went t' de place she was nabbed b'fore, do y'?"

"Any place is possible. I'll send Logan out there. Any where else?"

"Little places. Y' might wan' try de Danger Room, too."

"I wasn't planning on ruling anything out. We'll end up searching the entire institute until she turns up."

"Oui. I'll head upstairs an' check de rooms." Remy bounded out of the room.

Xavier cleared his throat. "It seems we've lost one of our guests of honor," he said lightheartedly, addressing the dining room audience. "Just go about eating and I'm sure she'll reappear soon. Thank you." Then he rolled out of the dining room, leaving everyone to whisper about what had just occurred. A few left the room to help in the search, such as Paige, Jubilee and Piotr. They agreed to meet up in 15 minutes at the main staircase.

Remy was well up the staircase already and racing down the women's wing. He stopped for a moment in front of Rogue's room, but sensed no one inside. He thought of going straight to his room to check there for her, but thought better of it.

Instead, he tried for Kurt's room, which was the next likely. She had absorbed him, so maybe she was drawn to there for comfort. Unfortunately for him, when he got there, he knew she wasn't inside.

He knew he had to narrow down which of the possible rooms she could be in, or he and the rest of the search team would spend all night looking for her. The roof could've been some comfort to her, but in his head he knew it was too cold that she would not last long out there. Shrugging, he headed towards Ororo's loft, hoping he could quickly sneak through there and cut up to the roof, just incase she was there.

As he was striding there, he heard an all too familiar scream. It wasn't out of fear, mainly shock, and it was followed by a thump. "Merde," he mumbled, quickening his pace even more towards Ororo's loft. He knew the shriek had to have come from in there.

The door was luckily unlocked, momentarily thanking Ororo for her undying trust in everyone. He swung the door open and dodged the many plants in his way until he found Rogue. Or… who he thought was Rogue.

On the hardwood floor laid a girl, oddly appearing like a female Kurt. She had fallen on her side, and it was obvious there was something hiding beneath her jeans that longed to be free. Her skin was blue and slightly furry, though she still had ten fingers and ten toes. Her hair was still long and curly, although it had turned midnight blue. The only way Remy knew it was Rogue was because the distinctive white streak still contrasted with the dark color of her hair and skin.

Without thinking, he ran over to her side, and propped her up on his lap. "Chere? Rogue? C'mon, p'tite, talk t' me." He rubbed her shoulder, trying to rouse her out of her sudden unconsciousness.

"…remy?"

"Dat's right, chere. It's me. What happened?"

She glanced wearily to the mirror in front of them. "Ah turned inta Kurt…" She turned to him slowly, tears glistening in her now golden eyes. "Momma melded with me in mah mind…"

"We gotta get y' t' Hank, chere. He'll figure dis out. Maybe dis is de t'ing 'bout y' powers mutatin'."

"Ah don't want anyone ta see me like this!" she suddenly shrieked with a burst of energy. "They cain't know, Remy. Tell me ya won't tell 'em."

He looked at her sternly. "How are dey not gon' know? Dis pro'bly won' happen jus' once. If y' absorb anyone, den y'll start takin' some of deir physical appearance. Dat's not somet'in' y' c'n hide easily, 'm sorry t' say."

"Then Ah won't absorb anyone anymore. It's not like it's necessary that Ah hafta do it. Ah'm not in danger anymore so what is the point of usin' mah powers?"

"Rogue," he said, trying to get through to her and hoping that since he was using her name instead of a pet name, she would truly listen to him. "Y' know y' can' fall out of usin' y' powers. Y' never know what may happen. An' how are y' gon' explain missin' out on danger room sessions?"

"People are gonna be so careful around me, Remy!" She got out of his lap and stood up. "They're not gonna expect anythin' from me foh the longest time because of what happened-"

"So y' gonna use people's pity t' keep y' secret hidden?" He almost spat the words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I can' believe y' takin' advantage of people's compassion like dat, Rogue!" He was standing up now and glowering down at her.

She suddenly realized what she had been saying. The delight fell from her eyes and was replaced by guilt. "Oh mah gawd… Ah cain't believe Ah was sayin' that." As she came to her senses, her skin began to pale and her eyes slowly filled with their natural green shade. In her mind, the shadows were crawling over Kurt and hiding him in the depths of her mind like tentacles. Tears sprang to her eyes as she felt Kurt wake up and leave her.

In her mind, she rushed to the door. It was still broken. She attempted to push it shut in hopes of catching whatever she could of Kurt, but it swung open limply after her furious attempt to keep it closed.

"Rogue?"

Her eyes slowly opened, allowing her tears to fall. "He's gone."

"Who's gone, chere?" He took a step closer to her.

"Kurt… there's none of him left like befoh. Ah remember his memories, and Ah can tell the difference between his an' mah own." She looked at her hands. They were back to normal. "There's none of him left besides that."

"Y' mean y' won' be able t' teleport days from now?"

She shook her head. "Ah don't think so. Unless Ah can find out where he went in mah head. He didn't go to the closet where Ah kept all the things Ah'd absorbed."

"Do y' want me t' get Jean or somet'in'?"

She shook her head quickly. "No!" She caught her tone of voice. "Ah mean… they just let me out, ya know? Ah still don't wanna show this sort of weakness. Ah know Ah can figure out what happened on mah own."

He nodded, understanding her explanation. He stood up next to her, and pulled her into a hug. "Whatev'r y' want, chere. I'll be here no matter what."

She buried her face against his shirt, trying to swallow any other tears that threatened to appear. "Thank you, Remy," she said against his chest. "Ah don't know why Ah acted that way."

"Maybe it residual feelings from y' maman. Y' said she could act smug towards y' when y' were younger."

Rogue nodded, though her forehead never lifted off his shirt. "That makes sense. What if Ah start actin' coldly every time Ah absorb someone? It's like my powers are workin' with hers now, an' Ah can't control it."

Remy smiled gently as he pulled away from her. She looked up, confused why he had ended the embrace, but her expression melted when her eyes connected with Remy. "Chere, y' be one of de strongest people I know. Y' gon' figure dis out, even if it means y' gon' have t' stick wit' de way t'ings are. Maybe dis is how y' powers mutated."

She sighed, though her eyes met up with Remy's once again. There it was again: the glimmer of hope and happiness that Remy adored about her gentle green eyes. "You'll be there ta help me, raht?"

His smile grew into a smirk. "'Course, p'tite. I'll always be dere f'r y'."

Her heart soared with his words. It wasn't as if he had never spoken them before. Quite the contrary, actually. He'd said them so many times to her in the last four years, she was sure they would become meaningless. How he managed to put so much feeling behind the simplest words was beyond her, but she knew she would be eternally grateful to have someone like him in her life. Sure, she was confused about what her actual feelings were towards him at that exact moment, but then again, none of it mattered. No matter what, they would be there for each other until the end. And given their pasts and what they'd overcome already in their short lives, it was like nothing could stop them.

"You're the best, Remy," she managed to whisper with her voice under control. She didn't know why she bothered to hide any emotion she was feeling. She knew Remy's empathy was slightly rusty due to the whole incident, but she could tell it was growing back to normal levels. His face brightened as she radiated with optimism and happiness. His eyes blazed in a way that would've scared anyone else, but Rogue was just so used to it. It was almost crazy to her how much she knew about his reactions and was still comfortable around him as if nothing had happened and nothing was said.

"Y' ready t' go back t' the party?"

She giggled. "Ah don't seem ta have all that much luck stickin' around at mah own parties," she mentioned, obviously referring to her 11th birthday party.

"We'll get it right one of dese times, I know it," he laughed, extending his hand towards her. She took it, grinning. In a deft movement, and as a surprise to her, he carefully but deftly swung her around so she was on his back. She clung on for a moment before relaxing, as she wasn't expecting the action. He boosted her up in a position so she could hang her clothed arms around his neck, and her legs were hooked in his crooked arms.

"Let's get goin'. Ah wanna make sure Kurt's okay," she said, allowing the guilt she was feeling to seep into her voice. Remy nodded and began the trek downstairs with her bobbing behind him with each step.

They didn't bother to stop at the dining room to let everyone know that Rogue was found and safe. Remy managed to easily maneuver around the mansion and avoid everyone until they made it down to the med lab.

Kurt had fully woken up only seconds before they entered the room. Rogue quickly climbed off Remy's back and ran to Kurt's bedside. "Ah'm so sorry, Kurt!" she cried in a hushed tone.

He looked up at her with understanding golden eyes. He did not smile though. "Are you okay?" he asked. Remy smiled briefly to himself. Always like Kurt to check on his sister's well being before worrying about his own.

Rogue's hand found her ponytail and she unconsciously began petting it in a soothing manner. "Ah am," she answered softly.

Then he smiled, as softly as his sister had just spoken. His hand reached out and found her gloved hand. "How are your powers?"

She bit her lip and looked quickly to Remy. He only nodded, encouraging her to tell Kurt. She gnawed her lip a tiny bit more before turning back to him. "They've changed."

"How?"

"Ah have Momma's powers, Ah think."

Kurt blinked, confused. "You mean, you shapeshifted?"

She nodded the faintest of nods. "Mah skin turned blue an' my eyes turned gold an' mah hair was dark blue like yoah's," she whispered.

Kurt blinked again. "Wow. I, um, I guess that makes sense."

She shrugged. "It's gonna be weird. Ah never took on the physical appearance of people Ah absorbed befoh. Oh, Ah forgot ta mention. Ah grew a tail."

His eyes widened and did not blink for once. "A tail?" She nodded somberly. "Where did it go?" He crooked his neck so he could see behind her.

She turned around so he could see her bottom, tailless. "Ah don't know. It didn't feel like it shrank into me, but it just disappeared. Luckily, it wasn't forceful enough ta poke a hole through anything," she giggled half-heartedly. She could feel Remy smile behind her. _That would've been awful if that'd happen! Remy walkin' in on me like that!_ She fought the blush that threatened to rise up her neck.

"Thankfully," Kurt smiled. He turned to Hank, who appeared to be looking over some data papers. "Do you mind if I go?"

"Actually," he glanced at Rogue. "I was hoping if the young Southern Belle would mind if I examined her very quickly." His face was sincere, and Rogue could never say no to him when he addressed her like that.

"Ya promise it'll be quick?"

He held up his paw and crossed his fingers. "Doctor's honor."

Remy chuckled. "Ain' dat de sign for de Boy Scouts, Henri?"

The blue man smiled. "I could not lie and say I was a Scout. How could I earn your trust by lying to you so blatantly?"

Rogue thought about it for another moment. "All raht. Very quick. Then we're all goin' back up ta eat."

"Deal." Hank pulled out his equipment and had Rogue sit down on the bed adjacent to Kurt's. His examination was brief but thorough enough to see that all her physical statistics were average: heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, etc. "You seem healthy to me," he stated, after checking her skin tone and the roots of her hair.

"Do Ah have a clean bill of health?"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could… check for that tail you mentioned."

The blush she had from the examination brightened about three shades. "Ah guess…" she trusted Hank when it came to his professionalism, of course. But that didn't mean she could get embarrassed about someone looking at her bare bum.

Hank smiled and extended his hand. She took it and he explained they were going to the other side of the room behind a curtain.

"We'll wait here for y', p'tite."

Rogue nodded and followed Hank behind the curtain.

Kurt sat back in bed and sighed. "Y' okay?" Remy asked.

"Just a bit worn out. She barely touched me and it was like she held on for a full minute."

"Y' should've seen her… it was like she was your twin."

Kurt laughed, but it wasn't happy. "I wonder what other surprises are in store for her."

"It's just a matter of gettin' her to open up. She's not gon' wan' to talk about it wit'out bein' prompted."

"It's probably really embarrassing for her. And remembering our mom in such a way can't be good at all, either."

Remy sighed. "We say all dese t'ings as if we weren't expectin' it."

"I know what you mean. We knew there was the possibility of her powers being screwed up due to the serum Victor used."

"Hey, has Henri said anyt'in' t' y' 'bout de people dat helped Victor?"

Kurt shook his head sadly. "Not a thing. Though honestly, I've been too preoccupied with making sure Rogue's all right and not going insane to think about who was there."

"Didn' y' see them?"

Kurt was silent for a moment. "I was so blind with anger and fear, I couldn't tell you if I was fighting a man or beast."

"Oh."

"Maybe it'll come back to me. Anyone that helped Victor is obviously, without a doubt, an enemy of ours."

"Definitely."

"Hey, maybe Rogue has the answer!" he suddenly exclaimed, although in a whisper so his voice didn't travel across the room.

"Quoi?"

"Since she absorbed me, maybe my lost thoughts somehow made it to her through the transfer."

"That's stretchin' it, don' y' t'ink? An' her mind isn' workin' de way it was before."

"Oh… wait. What do you mean?"

Remy briefly explained what Rogue had told him about not being able to call back the power. Kurt was about to comment, but Rogue came out from behind the curtain with Hank. Her face was bright red, but Hank appeared puzzled.

"What happened, Rogue?" Kurt asked.

Hank glanced to Rogue, who nodded the go ahead. "There is a small bruise in the area, but Rogue insists she feels no pain when it is prodded." Her blush deepened at the word 'prodded.' Hank continued though. "However, it should be completely healed in no time at all."

Rogue walked over to Remy with her head down and interlaced her gloved hand with his. She noted her other hand was still bare and looked at Kurt guiltily. Hank took note of the dilemma and handed Rogue an extra rubber glove. "I don't recommend you use your powers just yet, Kurt."

Kurt nodded and after Rogue joined hands with him, the trio began their way out of the med lab and upstairs.

"Ah wanna go to mah room really quick an' grab another pair of gloves," Rogue stated when they made it to the main landing once again.

"Do you want us to come with?" Kurt asked.

She shook her head smiling. "That's all raht. Ah'll just be a minute." Without another thought, she quickly, but casually ran up the stairs to her room.

Remy and Kurt shared a glance. "Should we t'ink twice about dat?"

Kurt thought for a moment. "Probably not. There's nothing wrong with wanting a minute to be alone."

"Y' got a point. I still wan' follow her dough."

"Me, too. It'd be better if we respected her space right now though."

Remy sighed. "Let's go tell Xavier we found her in case Hank hasn't spread de news yet."

"Actually, do you mind if I wait here for Rogue? I'm starting to feel tired from walking up here and I want to take a quick break."

"Sure," Remy said, concern lacing his voice. "Y' sure y' okay?"

Kurt smiled. "Yeah, just need a second."

Remy nodded and began walking in the direction of the dining room again. He ran into Piotr on his way back. Not literally, thankfully, or Remy would've become a mark on the floor.

The two exchanged quick greetings before Piotr anxiously asked, "Did you find her?" His usually clear blue eyes were cloudy with concern.

"Oui, she ran upstairs t' her room real quick. Kurt's waitin' f' her at de bottom of de steps."

"Are they both okay?" The same concern darkened in his eyes once again.

"Dey're both alright. Rogue's a li'l shaken up, an' Kurt's a li'l wasted but he's movin' around."

"That is wonderful to hear." He smiled warmly and his eyes became clear again. "I need to find Paige and Jubilee to tell them the good news."

"Do y' know where de Prof is? I'd like t' let him know dat t'ings are okay if he didn' know already an' t' call off de search team."

Piotr thought about it. "I saw him last in the foyer, directing Logan and a couple others to check outside. I imagine he may have gone to his study to attempt locating her telepathically again but away from the noise."

Remy nodded, thankful for the tip. "I'll go get him if he's still dere. If I see eit'er of de femmes on de way, I'll give 'em de heads up an' tell 'em y' lookin' for dem as well." He waved goodbye to Piotr, who turned back to the dining room, while Remy began down the hall to Xavier's study.

----

Rogue made it to her room and dug into her glove drawer for a new pair of short black cotton gloves. She had several pairs of that kind, so locating the desired type wasn't difficult. She tugged the gloves on and was ready to leave her room. She stopped short of the door in front of the mirror. Quickly, she scrutinized her appearance. Everything needed as if it were 'normal' – there were no blue marks on her skin, nor random dark blotches in her hair. However, she was still surprised every time she saw the extra white forelocks in her reflection. She looked so much… older. The hair represented a woman of sixty, unlike the fifteen-year-old face hiding behind the seemingly bleached strands.

Then again, she didn't feel fifteen anymore. Had she ever felt fifteen? Some days she felt like she'd jumped from five to about eighteen or twenty – but how could she place an exact number on her age?

Sighing, she turned away from the mirror and out of her room in the direction of the staircase. "Kurt?" She called when she saw her brother sitting on the steps. He turned and smiled, his fangs showing. "Ah thought ya would've gone an' gotten somethin' ta eat."

"I was feeling tired so I decided to wait around for you."

She quickened her pace down the steps until she was by his side. "Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit worn out, but it's nothing unexpectedly, ya know."

Rogue appeared slightly appeased. "If you say ya're all raht…"

"I wouldn't lie to you, Rogue. You know that."

A smile found its way to her face. A small smile, but it practically made Kurt beam with joy with how much a simple expression brightened up her entire face. It wasn't long before the smile tickled her eyes and made the emeralds dance in her irises once again.

"Are you ready now?"

She nodded and extended her newly covered hand. "Let's go."

----

Remy rapped gently on the door to Xavier's study. "Come in please, Remy," he heard from inside. Remy ignored the fact of how the professor had known it was him. He'd been doing it to everyone for as long as Remy had lived there and even before. He'd heard stories, oh yes.

He pushed the massive door open and stepped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. "Did y' hear 'bout Rogue?" he asked as soon as he stood in front of Xavier.

"Hank informed me as you entered the med lab with her. I was keeping a mental tab on both him and Kurt since I couldn't find Rogue herself."

"Oh. So y' know everyt'in's okay?"

Xavier smiled, but it wasn't happy. "Things are far from okay, Remy."

He sighed. "I know. I jus' wish it was an' t'ings could go back t' whatever's considered normal around here." Remy began to notice then how weary the professor appeared. He realized he barely recognized him from the man he met some four years prior. But then again, he rarely actually met with Xavier for any sort of one-on-one discussions. Most of it was because of Remy's distrust of psychics, but Remy had always felt another sort of intimidation from Xavier too. He just always seemed like a guy that was at a much higher level than everyone else at the institute that made him unapproachable in Remy's eyes. Looking at him then though made Remy realize he was just like everyone else. Usually his empathy helped him realize that with other people quicker, but the avoided contact with Xavier put that conclusion off.

"Are you all right, Remy?"

"Hmm… what?"

Xavier smiled again, this time it was warm and full of unconditional patience. "I've asked you several times how Rogue seems to be."

"Oh. She's… strange." Remy glanced to the door, noting how it was slightly opened. "Dere's somet'in' strange dis time around."

"Due to the mutation?"

Remy nodded gravely. "She asked dat I not share what's happenin' wit' her, dough."

Xavier leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. He steepled his hands together and rested his nose behind them. "I see. Out of all my students in the past, the two of you seem to be the least trusting, and I hope you understand that I mean that in the nicest way possible."

"I do." Remy began to feel miniscule guilt at being figured out, but then he realized that his and Rogue's outlooks on spooks and just all around trusting were widely known. Remy really only trusted Rogue with everything, while Rogue opened up to basically him, Kurt, Jean to an extent, but most of all, her journal. Xavier wasn't the type of man who didn't ignore little facts like this. Maybe it hurt him to admit it to Remy after so long. "It's just in our nature, I guess," Remy added, shrugging nonchalantly.

"I've noticed that as well. I'm half inclined to ask you to just trust more, but that request would be absurd."

Remy smirked despite himself. "Dis is very true."

"Why do you feel the need to keep to yourself and Rogue though?" The question was sincere. Xavier was truly curious of why Remy found it difficult to open up with others. He knew of Remy's back story about the orphanage and past relationships with his peers. Xavier found himself a failure when it came to Remy though. He did not believe in not getting to know his students. Every student that came through the school was like a son or daughter to Xavier. His goal was to make all relationships between he and his students as equal as he could. Granted, he was pretty sure he would never have Remy and Rogue on the same level as Scott, Jean or Ororo (as he didn't with most of his students), but he was determined to have the young Southerners on some level unlike the barely familiar one they were on now.

"I don't know," Remy answered after a moment. He was silent after that. He thought about it for a second. "Sometimes it jus' seems easier t' just not let anyone in," Remy said softly. "Trustin' Rogue an' only Rogue is jus' comfortin' t' me."

"She loves you unconditionally, you know."

Remy looked up and smiled, the red in his eyes dancing. "I do. She tol' me."

Xavier smiled as well. "By the looks of it, you feel the same way."

"I t'ink I do…" he once again glanced to the door. "Can I ask y' about somet'in'?"

The same smile remained on Xavier's face, though he was inwardly grinning with delight. _Is Remy voluntarily opening up?_

Remy knew he was giving Xavier what he wanted, but this was a good chance to get some answers on the whole "loving Rogue" thing. He got up and suddenly felt Xavier's anxiety, but then it calmed when Remy shut the door and instead of remaining standing, he opted for the chair in front of Xavier's desk. "Okay, if I tell y' dis, y' promise not t' tell a soul?"

"Of course, Remy. You're taking a huge step here and I wouldn't insult your courage like that." The words themselves almost seemed insulting, but Remy could tell Xavier was being calm and sincere.

Remy adjusted himself in the chair so he was more comfortable and tried to decide how he was going to ask about his feelings for Rogue. "Sir, do y' have any sort of empathy?"

"I think I have it slightly due to my telepathy, but not to the extent that Jean does. Why do you ask?"

"I've had it for awhile… least I t'ink I do."

Xavier didn't look overly surprised, even though Remy had kept that additional power of his a secret from a lot of people for the most part. "I always felt a different psychic aura from you. There's just something about how mutants with psychic abilities can seek out fellow psychics."

"I ain' a spook," Remy hastily reminded him.

Xavier smiled patiently again. "I didn't say that Remy. I've just sensed it on you from day one but couldn't pinpoint it. Empathy is most definitely on a mental level, but it in no way makes you a telepath. It's just usually an additional power that psychics tend to have instead of a mutant with your sort of abilities."

Remy was about to mutter "good" but decided against it. Instead, he decided to continue on the question at hand. "I t'ink I've had it f' awhile. An' in de beginnin', being around Rogue brought me my happiness, because she was happy. After awhile, I gained my own, but knowin' she was happy jus' boosted me even more. Sometimes it wasn' just de empathy helpin' out though. Havin' her dere was enough because I knew she would care 'bout me forever. An' the same with me f' her… Am I makin' any sense?"

Xavier nodded. "Please, go on."

Remy sighed. "Den everyone started tellin' me dat I was in love wit' her. Suddenly too. I'm not sure if people have been hintin' on it all dis time an' I've jus' picked up on it, but after listenin' t' so many people tell me, it didn' seem like dat crazy an idea. Den after she was gone… I hate t' say dis, but it was like I took f' granted what she meant t' me. She was always dere. Even when I did dat shit wit' Sarah." Remy expected a reaction from the professor due to his language, but he showed no exterior one. He probably didn't even recognize it since he was used to hearing every word in the book from Logan. So Remy continued. "When I felt like I was gon' lose her… I didn' know what t' do. An' dere she was on top of me, holdin' me tight an' makin' sure I was okay, even dough she was a mess herself." He paused for a moment.

When he didn't start again, Xavier inquired, "What's wrong?"

"I remember lookin' at her den, an' realizin' she wasn' fifteen. I mean, of course she's fifteen, but I looked at her, straight in de eyes an' saw dat it didn' matter. De shit dat people had been pummelin' in t' m'head didn' matter. What I saw was Rogue."

Xavier smiled. "I think you just answered your own question."

"Did I?"

"You were questioning your feelings about her."

"I know dat, but how did I answer it?"

"You've probably had all these thoughts swimming around in your head for the last week." Remy was about to get angry for Xavier flat out predicting his dilemma, but then how could Xavier not? It wasn't as if Remy was the only person in the history of humans and mutants alike to figure out the meaning of love. "I think once you had the chance to actually verbalize it into real statements without pausing like you did answers your question."

Remy shrugged. He had a point. "De t'ing wit' Rogue is… it's not as if I wan' have sex wit' her. I could hold her, but she's still got dis innocence 'bout her dat I couldn' ruin."

"That's your mind unconsciously thinking about her age."

"Is dat wrong?"

Xavier shook his heard vehemently. "Of course not. You're right. Rogue _is_ still fifteen, no matter how the rest of us may see her. She's grown and is still growing into a young woman, even if her mind is years past her time."

"So… it's okay t' feel de way I do 'bout her?"

"It's only natural, Remy. I know you're not particularly fond of the comparison, but how do you think Jean and Scott fell in love?"

Remy thought about it and remembered Rogue had told him the story of the two senior students-turned-teachers.

His mind flashed back to a moment from no more than two months before. They were sitting on her bed, eating chips and salsa and enjoying a movie. Rogue didn't seem to be as into it as Remy figured she would have been, considering it was one of her favorites. "What's wrong?" He asked her.

She looked at him, looking startled as if she wasn't expecting him to speak to her. Once their eyes connected, she blushed and giggled. "Was Ah spacin' out that much?"

"Y' were. What's up?"

"Jus' thinkin' of mah session with Jean from earlier this week." She picked up the remote and paused the movie so she could turn and face Remy. "Did ya know her marriage with Scott is somethin' outta a fairytale almost?"

Remy smirked. "Not'in's dat perfect, chere."

"But they are, Remy! She told me way, way back on our second day here about how they met an' how they fell in love an' everything. An' it's like Ah pick up a new piece about it every time Ah have one of these sessions with her." She sighed dreamily. "It's so great."

"How did dey fall in love?" He wasn't too interested, considering Scott was one of those wonderful people who liked to get on his case about everything, but he figured he would keep the conversation going since Rogue was so enthralled by it.

Another blush settled on Rogue's cheeks. "They were best friends for the longest time an' then something just clicked between them, she told me. It was like they were made foh each other an' they were lucky enough t' meet here."

Remy smiled despite the content matter. "Oui, dat is nice." Then he frowned. "What has it on y' mind so much?"

Rogue's smile dropped. "Ah think it's just sweet. The movie musta brought it up in mah mind."

"… Chere, we're watchin' _Last Action Hero_. Dere's no conceivable romance in dis movie 'cept f' Arnold hittin' on Danny's mom."

She smiled. "It's jus' on mah mind. Ah don't know why. Maybe mah powers are playin' funny tricks on me an' makin' me think of it." Remy could see right through her fib, but decided to let it go at that.

"Y' want some more lemonade b'fore y' start de movie up again?" He asked before any awkward silence could settle between them.

Rogue nodded. "You bet." She handed him his glass and watched him leave the room, sighing sadly as the door shut behind him.

As the memory faded, he mimicked the sigh unconsciously. "Yeah… I'm a fool."

"What was that?" Xavier asked, as Remy had muttered his comment under his breath.

"I said I'm a fool. I didn' see it comin' at all."

"You can't be hard on yourself because of something like this. Feelings like the ones you are experiencing are not presented the same for each and every person, Remy. The confusion is the only reoccurring part of love."

"It's not fair t' her dough. She was tryin' t' hint it t' me de whole time. She probably didn' realize what she was doin' since she's as shy as can be, but she did."

"Are you sure she feels the same romantic love that you do?"

Remy gave him a strange look. "It doesn't seem right when y' put it dat way."

"Think of it this way with my train of thought, I'm going back to my university days. Would you say that you trust Rogue's good judgment?"

Remy blinked at the professor. "Of course I would."

"Good. Now, would you be miserable if you couldn't be with her?"

"Be wit' her how?"

"Just answer the question to the best of your ability, Remy," Xavier said patiently.

Remy tossed the question over once in his head. That was all it took. "Mais. oui." Out of everyone else he had met, he couldn't most definitely live without Rogue. Of course, he would be sad if he didn't have some people in his life, like Ororo and Kurt as well as they had become very close when it came to their mutual bond with Rogue. But if Rogue wasn't there… he would be so lost. It wasn't even that he trusted only her. It went beyond that. She was there to make him smile with the smallest laugh or giggle. He loved watching her eyes dance when she had some juicy institute gossip to tell him. Even though she was a hermit for the better part of four years, she still had so much life in her and proved it through every movement she made, and every word she spoke. She probably wouldn't agree with him if he told her, but she'd grown so much from the little vulnerable girl she was. Yes, she was afraid of her own shadow at most times, but she would be able to take charge in any danger room session. The way she would glide between people with ease and touch a cheek here, tap an exposed arm there. And then with uncanny control, she'd be able to use whoever's power she wanted, whether it was from absorbing in that single session, or from her own supply of powers in her head.

Not everyone could deal with what she dealt with day by day, between her childhood and her unique powers. But she did without complaint. She didn't want to talk about her past, so she didn't bring it up. If she had a headache because of her powers, she'd ask Hank for some medication and that'd be the end of it. She had unknowingly and unselfishly become one of the strongest people Remy had ever had the honor of knowing. And that's what it came down to. He admired her for it. He loved her for it.

"What are you thinking about, Remy?"

Remy looked up at the sound of his name, his red eyes focusing on Xavier. "Of how much I wan' tell her dat I figured it out."

Little worried lines appeared across Xavier's forehead. "While I do agree that this is important to share with her… do you think it's a good time?"

Remy sighed. "She did say she didn' wan' talk about what was said."

"What was said?"

"We told each ot'er dat we loved each ot'er… but until now I t'ought we did it in the heat of de moment… like we weren' gon' see each ot'er de next day or any day after dat."

"She's probably just as confused as you."

"I know."

"And with her mother's death-"

"She jus' wants t' deal wit' one t'ing at a time."

"I see this was discussed already?"

Remy nodded. "But now dat I've got it sorted in m'head, I wan' tell her."

"I know, Remy. And while this is a very important thing to share, you have to consider her best interests. If she wants to take the time to deal with her mother's death and her relationship with Kurt, which we cannot forget might I add, then I believe we should let her. The best thing you can do for her is to be there, because it's apparent with all of us how much she cares for you. Instead of telling her what you've discovered for yourself, show her. That will mean the most to her in her time of grieving."

Remy nodded again, his eyes faraway as he thought over what Xavier was telling him. "Dat makes sense." He made eye contact with the professor and smirked. "Merci, sir. Dis really helped." Remy stood up from the chair to motion he was leaving.

Xavier smiled as bright as he could without coming off as creepy. Remy noted that it brought years back to his age when he did that, and he also realized he didn't know exactly how old Xavier was, but oh well. None of it mattered.

He extended his hand across the table to Xavier, who graciously accepted it. "T'ank y' again."

"Please, don't mention it. It's what I'm here for. Thank you for trusting me."

Remy smirked. "Don' mention it." He let go of Xavier's hand and walked out of the room, the smirk still on his face. All he had to do was show Rogue how much he cared. And what better time to start then the present?

To be continued…


	25. Disclosure

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 25

Remy found himself practically sprinting to the dining room, hoping to find Rogue in there with Kurt already. As expected, she was in there, with a crowd of people around her asking if she was alright.

"Ah'm fine," she insisted to everyone at once, aggravated, with a blush on her cheeks. "Ah jus' had a momentary lapse in judgment, that's all. Ah can't be the only one who needs to get away here, can Ah?" she joked.

Ororo occupied Rogue's left side, while Kurt stood to her right. "She is fine, as you all can see. Don't you think it would be better if you spent your time congratulating her on her quick recovery instead of embarrassing her in such a manner?"

People began listening to Ororo and backed off, slowly and reluctantly retreating to their seats. While a couple glances were stolen at Rogue, people began to go back to their own business.

Ororo sat down, leaving the seat to Rogue's immediate left empty. Rogue smiled appreciatively to Ororo. "Thank ya," she whispered under the hum of the dining room chatter.

"Don't mention it. It is the least I could do," Ororo smiled warmly back. Her twinkling blue eyes caught sight of Remy coming into the room. "There's Remy now." Kurt had told the two girls that Remy was expected to come back here first. However, Piotr had found Jubilee, and Jubilee had informed Ororo of Remy's whereabouts.

Remy made his way to his seat, smiling gratefully at Ororo. "I saw what y' were doin'. Merci."

"It is only fair that she not be viewed as a victim or as a culprit. She has come a long way in the last week and we cannot let one incident ruin her welcome back."

"I agree." He took a sip of his gumbo and made a face. "Not'in' worse'n cold gumbo." He started glancing around, trying to find Amara. She had the ability to basically create fire due to her connection with the earth and the magma flowing underneath the surface. It wasn't the most indoor friendly power, but the young woman had pretty good control over it.

"Amara!" Remy called. She was sitting across the table from Kurt. She looked up, her face regal. She was nice, but she definitely had a snootiness factor about her. Everyone thought she and Emma would get along due to their princess attitudes (Amara's being more real while Emma's was more of a mindset), but the two clashed worse than the colors blue and orange.

"Y' mind tossin' a flame ball dis way? M' gumbo got cold."

She smiled, and it reminded Remy she still had a lighter side despite being almost twenty-one. "Sure!" She stood up and leaned in the direction of Remy's bowl. She placed her hands together, forming a small ball of flame in her palms. Once it had been created, she tossed it lightly into his bowl.

"Merci, p'tite." She nodded, sitting back down and continuing her conversation with Allison.

Remy swirled his spoon around in the gumbo to disperse the heat evenly. "That's not goin' ta burn it?" Rogue asked.

"Nah. Amara's been workin' on dat. Not dat she's jus' gon' use her powers f'h de good of cooled soups everywhere, but it's good t' find different ways t' use an' ot'erwise destructive power."

Ororo laughed. "What I don't understand is why you used Amara's abilities instead of your own for that. I assume that you could do that with your powers…?"

He smirked, "I ain' no cook. De last time I charged food it ended up all over someone's face," he glanced sideways to Rogue.

"An' Ah'm lucky Ah had Logan on tap or Ah would'a scarred!" Remy was referring to a time about two years beforehand when they were eating ramen noodles while playing cards. They were so focused on their intense game of Spit, they ignored their simple meal. Remy used his brilliant idea of charging some heat back into the noodles and they exploded out of the bowl and partially onto Rogue's face.

"Yeah… so after dat, I never tried it again. Don' trust myself."

"I'm sure you will figure it out soon enough. You just need practice in less dangerous circumstances," Ororo replied.

"I jus' t'ink my powers are too much on de explosive level. No big deal."

"Ororo's raht." Rogue piped up from beside him. "We'll work on that foh ya. Ya said Amara worked on her destructive power, an' we'll do the same foh you." She smiled brightly.

"Merci, chere."

Dinner continued uneventfully… well, whatever was considered uneventful for the school of mutants anyway. Kitty and Jubilee began a mini food fight, although most of the food made it onto Bobby. Kitty easily made herself intangible every time food flew in her direction, so it simply phased through her onto her poor unsuspecting boyfriend.

Dessert was served shortly after that, but it was much less formal. People grabbed whatever they wanted – ice cream, pie, cake, cookies, etcetera – and departed from the dining room.

Rogue made herself a mini sundae with cookies and cream ice cream, and lots of caramel, whipped cream, and rainbow sprinkles. She grinned as Remy dropped a cherry on top. "It's perfect," she beamed at him.

Remy nodded, agreeing full heartedly. He helped himself to three different slices of pie and a handful of cookies. "Where do y' wan' t' eat?"

"How about in the den? Ah'm sure the rec room is gon' be full of people. Ah wanna sit by the fireplace, too."

"Sounds good t' me. Lemme go tell Kurt an' 'Ro we'll be in dere."

"Actually…" she placed her free hand on his arm. "Ah jus' wanted ta talk ta you 'bout a few things."

Remy blinked. "Sure. Let's go." Her face remained calm, but Remy could feel the oncoming of a blush tinting her pale cheeks.

They made it into the den and Rogue sat on the floor near the fireplace. Remy followed suit and sat a comfortable distance away from her. "What did y' wan' talk about?" He asked after they sat in silence for a few minutes. Rogue was staring into the fireplace with a faraway look in her eyes. Remy could feel a myriad of emotions, many of them vague.

She turned to him slowly. She had tears brimming in her hopeful green eyes. "Ah've jus' been thinkin' an' wanted ta tell ya about it."

"Sure. I mean, I'm happy y' wan' talk t' me. I know y' goin' t'rough a tough time an'-" In the middle of his nervous spiel, Rogue had crawled over next to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist. As soon as Remy realized where she had moved to, she began to sob.

"Ah'm sorry," she whispered after a full minute or so of crying loudly. Remy had embraced her all the while, stroking her hair and her back, telling her to let it all out.

"Why, chere?"

"Because ya've been mah human tissue too many times ta count today."

"Y' know I don' mind, dough. I jus' wan' be dere for y' as much as y'll let me."

She pulled away enough to look him in the eyes. A small smile graced her face. "You're the best, Remy." She leaned her head back onto his chest. After sighing deeply and breathing in his scent, she whispered, "Ah can't imagine livin' without you in mah life."

Remy smiled, remembering his conversation with Xavier. He'd basically said the same thing about her. He wanted to tell her how much he cared, that he had sorted out his mind and knew how he really felt, but he didn't know how she would take it. He just had to keep in mind that action spoke louder than words. "I feel de same way," he settled for saying while giving her a gentle squeeze.

Rogue smiled against his chest, basking in his bodily warmth. "Ah'll always have Kurt but sometimes Ah'm jus' not comfortable around him with some thin's…" She didn't elaborate further.

"I c'n see what y' mean." He did not go on either. A few minutes passed. Rogue didn't care that her delectable sundae was melting in front of the fire. She lost herself in the warmth of Remy's embrace. She remembered telling him that she didn't want to discuss what was said that fateful night – that she wanted to take it one step at a time. Now she wasn't so sure what she wanted to keep at the forefront of her mind.

When Remy had observed her, she had been thinking of her mother. Her mind had gone back to a time where Rogue had disliked her for the most part.

They had been walking through a department store a couple towns over from Caldecott County. It was one of the few times Victor had allowed Rogue out with her mother. After all the fights she'd gotten herself into at school, Victor had grounded her for a good portion of her third grade year.

"Momma, it smells in here," she whined as she pinched her nose with her free hand. Raven was in the process of walking her through the perfume department.

"Beth, it's not that bad," her mother replied, although her pale nose was wrinkled in disgust. "Ah jus' have ta buy the scent Victor likes."

"That scent's icky though. You should buy somethin' ya like instead."

Raven smiled wearily. "It's not that easy, sweetie."

Rogue pulled her hand out of her mother's grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. "Ah don't see how it ain't. Ah don't like him. He's mean ta me."

"He is not an' ya know it!" Raven hissed indignantly. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than her daughter.

Rogue pouted. They'd had this screaming fit many times before, but in the privacy of their home. Then again, it always ended with the both of them being shut up by Victor when he came home from work and heard them screaming. Raven never hit her daughter in these fights, though. She would shift from form to form to frighten Rogue enough to stand down, but only the sight of Victor completely terrified her. And Raven could never change into Victor for the sake of scaring her only daughter. The look in her green eyes ripped Raven's heart out of her chest. But then, she never attempted to do anything to help when she saw that look in Rogue's eyes.

Raven's face fell and Rogue's arms dropped to her sides. "Ah don't want ta do this anymore," her mother said.

"Then don't," Rogue replied softly.

"I wish I couldn't." Raven's pseudo accent faded. Her face fell and she avoided looking at her daughter.

Rogue suddenly dug into her pocket and pulled out a handful of loose bills and change. She reached for her mother's hands and put the money in her open palms. "Ah was gonna buy mahself some snacks later, but Ah want ya ta use it an' get yoahself somethin' you want."

Raven looked between her hands and Rogue disbelievingly. "Where did you get this?" There was about ten dollars in her hand, but it was a large amount for an eight-year-old, especially one who didn't receive a regular allowance.

"Ah've been saving," she said in a small voice. She blinked up at her mother, wondering how she would react.

A small smile reached Raven's face and for a moment her eyes flashed their natural gold. She knelt down to her daughter's height and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Thank you, Bethany." She stood up again and gave the money to Rogue. After the change was back in her pocket, Rogue took her mother's hand. "Ah want ya ta pick me out a scent. You'll know what's good foh me." Her accent was back, but the smile on her face was new and genuine.

Rogue grinned. "Okay." Moments like these were rare for both of them. Rogue pulled her over to one of the counters and began pulling out different colognes.

"Honey, these are men's perfumes," Raven explained.

"But Ah like the way they smell."

"Don't ya want Momma ta smell like a lady?"

Rogue seemed to weigh the options in her head. "Ah guess…" She was still holding one particular bottle of cologne. "This one smells **really** good though." She held it up for her mother to smell.

"You're raht. Maybe Ah could get it foh Victor foh Christmas."

"No! He can't wear this. It'll be ruined."

"Beth… Ah thought we were beyond that," she half groaned.

"Ah'm jus' sayin' Kurt should wear it instead. Ah want him ta smell like this."

Raven smiled again. "Then Kurt will have it. Ah hope he likes it as much as you do." Then she put the bottle back down and led Rogue to the women's fragrances.

Kurt didn't like the scent. When Rogue came to the institute, she found the bottle still in the box with only a few drops missing. Kurt said it wasn't for him, so instead, he gave it to Remy to wear when he got older.

And now Rogue was breathing in the subtle yet spicy scent of the cologne off Remy's shirt. She thought about it and realized how perfect the cologne was for him. She tried to remember if she was a big believer in fate. It seemed too good to be true that something as simple as cologne she'd picked out seven years prior would be perfect for her best friend.

But then… was he still her best friend? What was he to her now? What was she to him? When did they cross that line? Had there ever been a line to cross in the first place? Was it always meant to be just them, holding each other by the fireplace like she'd seen in so many movies and read in numerous books?

Then she thought: _If Ah were ta die raht now, would Ah be completely happy?_ The answer became painfully obvious: no. _What could Ah do ta make mahself happy?_ It wasn't too difficult to think of that answer either, but how would she verbalize it? Her confusion was frustrating and she wished she could find some simple way to erase it.

"Y' okay, Rogue?"

_An' the empathy strikes again_. "Ah have too much on mah mind."

"Wanna talk 'bout it?"

"Not yet." _What is wrong with you? Ya wanna be able ta say it ta him, so say it!_

Remy rested his chin on her head and smiled into her hair. "Den we'll jus' sit here a bit longer, neh?"

_Why is he so patient with me? Ah would've snapped mah own head off by now!_

Suddenly he felt her anger and frustration as if she had been attempting to hold it back. Luckily, Remy knew his empathy well enough to not allow Rogue's anger to become his own. "What're y' doin', chere? I'm tryin' t' help y' out but dere's somethi'in' y' not tellin' me." He said all those words without raising his voice above a warm, gentle and consoling murmur.

"Why are ya bein' so nice?" The words came out shaky and small.

"Why shouldn' I?"

Rogue sighed. "Ah don't know. Mah head is such a mess between mah powers an' mah momma…"

"I know, chere."

"But mostly it's a mess with you."

He blinked. "Me?"

She nodded. "Ah know Ah said Ah didn't want ta discuss what happened an' what was said… but mah head won't stop bringin' it forward."

"I know what y' mean."

"Ah guess Ah'm just confused as ta what we do now. How are we supposed ta act towards each other… ya know?"

Remy nodded. "I t'ink… we should jus' act de way we always have. I'm not comfortable around a lot of people, chere. If I lost dat wit' you, I don't know how I'd function in life."

"But… Ah don't know how ta say this without soundin' incredibly naïve…"

"G'head, Rogue."

"It's always been in mah mind… about touchin'." Remy nodded, urging her to go on. "Ah always thought love grew through physical contact. Jean told me one time that it's important foh mental growth when yoah mind is developin' but it's important after that, too."

"Are y' tryin' t' say y' don' understand how y' could love me, let alone anyone, if y' can' touch?" She nodded somberly against his chest. "Have y' ever tried control, chere?"

"Control?" Had she ever spoken of it, let alone thought about it? It was easy enough to just hide behind a layer of clothing and leave it at that. Her life may have been complicated, but she could hide behind her powers. They hadn't failed her until Victor had negated them. It was then she felt vulnerable, when she was without them, when she couldn't bring up the psyches of the people she'd absorbed to keep her safe.

She liked her powers, but maybe Remy was right – she never thought of control. She felt no need to.

"No," she finally answered. "Ah may not be able t' touch, but Ah like the safety of mah powers."

"Den who needs touchin'? I'm comfortable wit' y' right here like dis."

Rogue smiled and snuggled further into him. "Maybe this is all Ah ever needed."

"Jean was right, I guess." She looked up at him quizzically. "We've been doin' dis since we were kids, Rogue."

"What?"

"Dis. Cuddlin', f'r de lack of better terms."

She giggled softly. "Ya're raht."

"Direct skin t' skin contact is overrated, anyway."

"Oh is it now?" Her voice held a slightly amused tone.

Remy thought about it. "Maybe when y' not touchin' de right person."

Rogue's smile brightened. Was it selfish of her to be so happy to hear him speaking so negatively about his previous relationships, mainly Sarah? Her selfishness felt justified though. "Ah wish Ah could touch ya though," she whispered.

"We'll work on dat, chere. It ain' everyt'in' dough, 'member dat."

"Ah know," she sighed. She pulled away for a second to snatch her melting ice cream. "So… we're gonna act like we've always acted towards each other?"

"I don' see why anyt'in' should change. We… fell in love by bein' ourselves wit' each ot'er f'r so long an' I t'ink we should jus' continue doin' dat."

Rogue's heart soared. _He said that we fell in love with each other… it's like one of those sappy romance movies Ah'd watch with Betsy and Kitty… but real_. "Ah understand whatcha mean… one more question."

"Sure, chere."

"Does this mean you're mah boyfriend now?"

Remy smiled. "Why not? I can' imagine bein' wit' anyone else but y' now."

She giggled. "Ah never had a boyfriend befoh."

"Now, Rogue. Don' go t' town wit' dis," he snickered.

"Ah won't," she promised. "Ah'm jus' really excited this worked out. Ah wrote about it in mah journal an' it didn't make any sense… befoh everythin' happened, Ah mean."

Remy decided to skip over the fact that he'd read that portion of her journal when he'd found it by the woods. "It took me awhile t' get it sorted in m'head. Xavier told me t' wait until y' were ready t' talk about it."

"Ya talked ta the professor about it?"

Remy smirked. "Oui. Dat was random but good f'me."

It overjoyed Rogue even more that he had been as conflicted about it as she had been. "Ah'm so happy raht now." She took a bit of her ice cream before putting the bowl back on the floor.

"I know y' are."

"Are ya happy too?"

He held her closer. "Course I am." _I couldn' be any happier right now_, he thought to himself. Being able to tell her was so much easier than keeping it bottled inside. It helped that Rogue was bubbling with joy. She fueled him with her happiness, much like she'd done when they first moved to the institute.

-----

Time passed. Remy wasn't sure how long he sat there holding her. It felt like a dream. He felt afraid that at any moment he'd wake up, alone in his bed, cold from the loss of heat emanating against him from Rogue and the fireplace. He glanced down and noted she had fallen asleep, an angelic smile curving her lips slightly. A few loose tendrils of white hair framed her face, adding to her child-like beauty.

He didn't see her as a fifteen-year-old though. He saw Rogue. Age was simply a number. It meant nothing about mental maturity. And as far as Remy was concerned, Rogue's mental age was older than his. But everything was an estimated number and Remy disliked numbers. Math was his least favorite subject, remember?

"Momma…" he suddenly heard her murmur. Her eyes were still shut and she still had the smile gracing her face. She was dreaming.

-----

Rogue was again in the department store, posing slightly in front of a mirror. She reached for the cologne bottle off the counter next to her, showing her mother again. Raven was in her natural form, looking at Rogue from inside the mirror.

"Yes, sweetie?"

She sprayed the cologne into the air and sniffed it, smiling. "He loves me."

"Aww, honey, that's wonderful." Raven appeared very enthused and genuinely happy for her daughter. "Do you love him back?"

"Ah do."

"Then life is well." Her dark blue lips curved into a simple smile that reflected Rogue's own expression.

"Momma…" she stepped up to the mirror and placed her hand on it. "Did ya really love Victor?"

Her mother's smile faded and her head dropped. "I did… in the beginning…" she trailed off.

"There's somethin' ya're not tellin' me," Rogue prompted.

"There was someone else…"

"Someone else? Who?"

"Ah don't know if Ah should say…" Her voice leaked of Rogue's accent. Her appearance in the mirror was fading.

"Momma, tell me!" Rogue demanded.

Raven shifted quickly into the person for a split second before disappearing. Rogue gasped loudly and it echoed in her dreamscape. She woke up with a shake and startled Remy. Immediately he asked "Y' okay?"

She glanced around wildly and connected her gaze with Remy. She calmed down after staring into his mesmerizing red eyes for a few moments. "Ah need ta talk ta Kurt."

"'Bout y' dream?"

She nodded. "How did ya know?"

"Y' were talkin' in y' sleep." She hadn't spoken a word aloud after 'momma' had escaped her lips, but it was fairly obvious who the dream had been about.

"Oh." She didn't know if she usually talked in her sleep. Maybe it was something she'd picked up from her mother.

"C'mon, y' should go find him." He steadied her as she stood up and then got himself up as well.

"Ya don't wanna come along?"

"Y' want me to?" She nodded shyly. "Sure. Let's stop off at de kitchen t' drop off dese dishes an' we'll find him."

"All raht." She extended her gloved hand after she had picked up her bowl with the other hand. Remy took it, smiling. They left the den, noting people were still around. They greeted several people and were congratulated for their recoveries. About ten minutes later, they finally made it to the kitchen. Jamie, Allison and Lorna were working on cleaning up the dishes and putting away leftovers.

"Hey, y'all," Rogue greeted. Allison was the youngest of the three cleaners, having moved to the institute only a year or so after the southerners. She was a few months older than Rogue, but their close ages allowed for the two to have a small friendship. They weren't the best of friends, but on occasion, Allison would invite Rogue to go out with her and a couple other people. Rogue usually turned down any offers to leave the institute, but the thought was always appreciated.

The blonde turned and smiled. "Hey." She was in the middle of rinsing off a plate and putting it into one of the few dishwashers in the kitchen.

There were three Jamies milling about the kitchen, one putting food in the refrigerator, another helping Allison with dishes and a third carrying food and dishes in from the dining room with Lorna. All three turned to the southerners and waved shyly before returning to their separate duties. Jamie was 21, but still had the cuteness of a 12 year old.

"What did you need?" Allison asked after she accepted more dishes from Jamie.

"Lookin' foh mah brother. Have ya seen him?"

Lorna spoke up from the doorway. "Saw him with Alex and Ororo about five minutes ago. They were heading towards the rec room." She began floating silverware from the dining room into the kitchen with her magnetic powers, wary of the other students present. She gently placed them down in the sink for Allison to take care of.

Rogue smiled in her direction. "Thanks."

Allison dumped the silverware into the holder in the washer, her eyes fixed on Rogue and Remy's clasped hands. Her eyes flashed a quick grin at Rogue before turning back to the dishes. "Let them know I'll be down for karaoke in a few minutes," she called over her shoulder.

"Sure." Rogue squeezed Remy's hand in her own and then turned to leave the kitchen. Her pace quickened as they walked to the rec room.

"Y' sure y' okay?" Remy asked as he matched her pace.

"Ah just need ta talk ta him. Ah rather say it once instead of repeatin' mahself, ya know?" Remy nodded, keeping pace with her at no trouble.

They entered the rec room and Rogue all but leapt across the room onto Kurt. "Ah need ta talk ta you," she panted after she'd scared the hell out of him.

Kurt blinked once at Rogue, then at Remy in the doorway. "Sure…" he glanced to Alex and Ororo, excusing himself. Rogue took his hand hastily and all but dragged him off the floor and onto his feet. Once they were out the door, Kurt asked "What is this about, Rogue?"

"When ya came ta visit, did anyone ever come down with ya?" She asked in return bluntly.

Kurt thought for a moment. "Logan usually came down with me for supervision, but he usually wasn't around when I was at home with you."

"Where was Momma when you would be playin' with me?"

Kurt opened his mouth to answer, but then shut it. "Wait. You can't possibly mean-"

"Unless mah dream is lyin' ta me," she replied softly.

"But that doesn't make sense! And it was just a dream, Rogue."

"Momma is with me in mah head, Kurt! She wouldn't lie ta me!"

"Mon ami…" Remy began saying to Kurt. "Remember what y' told me 'bout when y' were outside dat night with y' maman's body?"

Kurt blinked again. "But… why would she do that? Why would **he** do that?"

"Only one way ta find out." Rogue began running from them.

"Where are you going?" Kurt yelled after her.

"Findin' Logan!"

BAMF! "It'll take you forever to find him," he responded after teleporting in front of her.

"Ah've gotta know though. Ah won't be able ta rest until Ah find out foh sure," she wrinkled her nose as the smoke around her dissipated, but otherwise didn't react to her brother's sudden teleportation.

Remy jogged up from behind them. "I haven' even seen him since my session earlier t'day. He was pro'bly involved in de search for y', but now dere's no tellin' where he might be."

Rogue thought for a moment. "Where was he sent to when it came ta lookin' foh me?"

"Xavier said he was gon' send him outside t' by de woods incase y' teleported dere."

"Chances of him still bein' out there?"

"That particular spot? Pretty slim."

"But where else," Rogue hinted, hoping the boys would soon catch on.

It occurred to Kurt first. "Mom's grave?"

"Why not? He'll have already been outside, an' if he's mournin' like ya say he is, then why would he have come back inside ta deal with people?"

"She's got a point, mon ami." He placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Do y' mind takin' us out?"

Rogue froze for a moment after her brother extended his hand towards hers. "Ah haven't seen it yet."

"De grave?" She nodded somberly. "Now dat y' mention it… neit'er have I. I never made it out back dere."

Kurt's golden eyes became downcast for a moment. "Xavier made sure that it would be the best burial he could give her. The ceremony was really nice as well."

Upon hearing this, Rogue's eyes filled with tears. "Do ya think he's out there?"

Kurt thought a moment before responding. "He has been brooding more than usual these days. I wouldn't be surprised if we went out and he was there."

"We should go then," Rogue decided, sliding her gloved hand into her brother's.

The three teleported outside a moment later. Kurt had taken them to a place not too far from the grave site. The form huddled near the tombstone was unmistakable, especially when he whipped around at the sound of their arrival. Remy could see anger in Logan's eyes at Kurt's apparently rude intrusion, but when his cold eyes fell on Rogue, fear and sadness Remy was not prepared for belted into him. He gasped at the intensity of the sudden emotions.

"Remy?" Rogue asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Go."

She nodded and turned back to Logan. She took a deep breath and began walking slowly towards the older man. He had been about 30 feet away and it seemed to take forever. When she finally reached him, she looked past him to her mother's tombstone. It was simple, though the white and black marble glistened in the moonlight. The white snow surrounding the area reflected the light in such a way it seemed like the slab of stone glowed.

Her eyes couldn't help but pool with tears at the sight of her mother's resting place. No one had known her with the exception of those standing in the yard at that moment, and yet, she'd been given the space to rest in peace. It moved Rogue deeply and her guilt at not talking to her mother sooner took over.

Her tears spilled onto her cheeks, shining in the same light that brought so much heavenly radiance to the grave. She walked past Logan to stand directly in front of the tombstone. Remy and Kurt took a few steps forward to close the space between the quartet, but gave Rogue the space she needed.

She ran her hands across the name engraved into the marble. _Raven Darkholme_. Her birth date and date of death underneath. And in smaller letters, the words _Mother, Lover, and Friend_. The last word made her smile. So maybe more people had known Raven at the institute. Rogue knew she'd love to hear stories if there were any to be told.

"Look… kid," Logan tried to begin.

"Don't call me 'kid'," Rogue said softly. He only nodded in compliance. "Why didn't you ever say anythin' about it?" she offered instead of the awkward silence that threatened to follow.

However, Logan was silent for awhile. Remy and Kurt found themselves holding their breath. They were afraid they would have been slaughtered by Logan if he even heard the slightest exhale from fifteen feet away.

Rogue tore her gaze away from the grave to stare at Logan coolly. She was beginning to tremble, realizing that coming out into the dead of January with just a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans was not the brightest idea. Her socks were saturated with freezing water from the snow she'd stepped in. She didn't need to glance to the boys to know they were feeling the same way.

"Do you want to go inside and talk about this?" This was the most calm Remy had ever seen the older man, and to be honest, it was frightening him a bit. Logan was never one to speak with a soft voice, or be cornered, let alone by a 15-year-old girl.

Rogue nodded, shivering. Logan extended his hand to her, and she took it, realizing how cold she really was. Logan's rough hand was warm and inviting around her freezing appendages despite her gloves. With a last gentle glance to the grave, she mentally promised her mother she'd be back, better prepared for the outdoor conditions of the season. Her teeth were chattering by the time they'd reached Remy and Kurt. Remy was rubbing his arms to keep warm while Kurt seemed perfectly fine. An advantage to having soft fur, he'd always told Rogue.

"_But it must be a pain in the summer, Ah'm sure," she'd counter right back with a gleeful smirk_.

And of course, she was right.

They were inside of few minutes later. Kurt had teleported inside to grab Rogue warmer clothes. He had offered to take everyone indoors, but Logan had declined. And Rogue wasn't about to let him out of her sight, so she trudged through the snow as well. Remy was undecided about going with Kurt, so instead he opted to follow Logan and Rogue.

Once indoors, Kurt was waiting with socks, slippers, and a robe for his sister. With a grateful smile, she peeled off her saturated socks and with help from Remy so she wouldn't fall over, replaced the socks with new, dry ones. She quickly slipped the robe and slippers on while Kurt tossed socks at Remy. He nodded his thanks and changed his socks as well. Kurt had already put on new clothes in his search.

"Oh," Kurt suddenly said and disappeared. About ten seconds later, he was back with a tray of mugs and a bottle of beer, wearing a sheepish grin. "I asked Jean to make cocoa… She suggested the beer for you, though," he motioned towards Logan.

"Thanks," he said roughly, but did not take the bottle.

Rogue reached for a mug and held it with both gloved hands. She smiled up at Kurt. "You didn't opt for a beer?" she asked, knowing that even though he was months away from turning 21, he still enjoyed a beer here or there while hanging out with his friends.

"Nah. Cocoa would hit the spot right now."

Remy took his mug and sipped the hot liquid. "Definitely hits de spot." He handed Logan his beer so Kurt could take the tray back.

"So where do you want to talk?" Logan asked.

"Some where no one would think of going right now," Kurt mused.

"I'd say de danger room den." Rogue and Kurt gave Remy a strange look. "What? De only person dat goes in dere on his own is Logan. An' I doubt Scott would be runnin' a session now."

"Good thinkin', Gumbo," Logan commented gruffly. The awkwardness radiating off the older man was filling the room with an uneasy tension that Remy wasn't the only one bothered by. Rogue was shifting back and forth on her feet and looking down at her cup of coca. Kurt was sipping the cocoa to look calm, but he couldn't stop his tail from anxiously twitching.

He lifted his attention from his mug and asked "Should I take us down?" All three expressed yes. Logan was obviously contemplating exactly how he was going to explain his relationship to Raven Darkhome to her children, so his response was a simple nod.

Rogue carefully held her mug in one hand and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. Logan and Remy gently grabbed his other shoulder as well.

Kurt concentrated and with a thought, they disappeared.

TBC…


	26. Recollection

Yes, I'm alive, and so is this story. I have every intension of finishing it, even though I've neglected it for so damn long. There's a longer, more in depth note at the end of the chapter, so please, please enjoy and don't hate me too much.

**Street Livin'**

Chapter 26

After they reappeared, Logan called up a simulation program for a log cabin. Rogue glanced around curiously; she didn't even know anyone could call up a sim that wasn't used for training.

"What's wit' dis sim, homme?" asked Remy with the same curiosity.

"It's comfy," he shrugged as he took a seat in the chair next to the fire. "I prefer the real thing though."

Kurt peered around the room before he sat down on the couch across from Logan. "This looks familiar…" he mused.

Logan sighed. "You've been here before."

Rogue began scrutinizing it herself. On the wall, there was a picture of her and Kurt. "This was Momma's," she murmured as she ran her hand along the frame.

Logan nodded, not looking at any of the three younger students. Remy, feeling a bit misplaced in the family issue, took a seat closer to the door of the cabin.

"It's the one she had in the mountains near Auntie Irene," Rogue continued. She turned to Logan, tears pooling in her eyes once again. "How did ya know about this place?"

Logan took a huge swig of his beer, allowing the lager to slide down his throat before continuing. "We met when Kurt signed up for the school. I had been the tour guide – fun," he snorted.

"I remember that." Kurt interjected. "You didn't seem so happy doing it."

"That's what I got for skippin' out too much. Xavier an' I made a deal that I could leave the mansion as often as I pleased, but if he needed me for somethin' at the school, I'd be there."

Remy snickered and received a growl from Logan. "Sorry. Go on," Remy apologized with a smirk.

"Kurt was goin' ta be the youngest student at the school, so Raven was pretty concerned with his social life. I know you didn't have much of one in Caldecott an' that was the main reason you were goin' ta Xavier's."

Kurt nodded, his eyes far away as he recalled the day. "You told me to go play with Jamie. He was left out a lot because of his mutation and figured we'd get along," he reminisced, smiling. "We played video games – four-player though, sine he bumped out two dupes."

"Did ya win?" Rogue asked, trying to imagine the sight.

"I didn't stand a chance," Kurt smirked. They both turned to Logan after sharing another laugh.

"After you went off to play, your mother wanted to talk more 'bout the schoolin' you would receive since you'd been home schooled by her. I wasn't the best person to talk ta about it with, but she insisted talkin' to me."

"Sorry t' interrupt," Remy spoke up. "But were y' durin' alla dis?" he asked Rogue.

"Stayin' with Auntie Irene. Ah loved visitin' her, so the week befoh Kurt moved out, we vacationed there. Ah was upset about him goin' so Momma had me stay there foh another couple days while she took Kurt to the school. Ah didn't understand why he had ta leave, but then again, Ah was only five. Mah only other friend at the time was Cody from school – remember him?"

Kurt snorted. "That blond menace to society? I don't know how many times you came home with mud poured in your hair…"

Rogue grinned. "Momma said it was because he liked me." She spared a playful glance back to Remy. He smirked in return.

Logan waited for them to stop reminiscing before continuing. "She mentioned how yer had father died when you were younger and how it'd been hard raising the two of ya."

"She'd been raising us all our lives. Dad only sent checks since he was always off in Germany for the military. When he would come home, I barely knew him. Plus, he died when Rogue was really young," Kurt clarified.

"She was still sad without him," Logan explained. "Much more sad than she was willin' to admit to anyone; but I picked up on it. While I knew you were content playing, I offered to take her out for some coffee and –"

"It was her first date since Dad died," Rogue suddenly whispered. Raven had been listening to Logan speak, her wistful sighs filling Rogue up with memories. Her mind flashed through the memories as if they were her own. Raven had felt so giddy for being treated to something so simple as coffee. Logan wasn't the type to be an over the top flirter, but his compliments from that hour meant the world to her. It had been too long since someone of the opposite sex really appreciated her. "She saw a bit of Dad in ya."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh really?"

She giggled. "It's the hair. She remembers meetin' Dad before he had shaved his head foh the military.

The comment made Logan smile briefly. It was a smile people didn't see often, and it disappeared as soon as it flashed on his face. "After that hour, I wanted ta see her again. I knew she was leavin' the next day to go back to California."

"So you followed her back," Kurt guessed out of the blue.

Logan nodded. "I found out what part of California she was heading to an' I got on the same flight as her."

Rogue spoke up again softly. "You surprised her. At first she was frightened, but then when you guys started talkin' again, she calmed down." Raven was beginning to unintentionally fill Rogue's head with too many memories. A headache began to form. _Momma_, she whispered to the ghost inside her head. _Ah know ya're excited, but ya have ta calm down. Let me think an' let Logan tell me in his own words._

_I'm sorry, dear. It's been so long since I've been this close to him_.

_Ah know. Just relax though. Makin' me freak out will get ya nowhere._ She felt Raven nod and then she slunk back into the unconscious of Rogue's mind. She could feel her mother still listening though. There was a gentle pressure on her shoulder that brought her back to the present.

"Rogue?" Remy had come up from behind her. "Y' okay?"

She realized she'd spaced out for several moments. She shook her head to clear it further and glanced up to Remy. "Ah'm fine."

"Y' sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah." Remy backed away and took his seat again; only half convinced that she was all right. Logan eyed her warily. She sighed, frustrated, insisting he'd continue. How she despised the looks she'd get from everyone when something like that would happen. He gave her another glance, but then decided to continue.

"Raven mentioned Beth – Rogue," he corrected himself with a look in her direction, "– staying with her long time friend. I just wanted ta spend some time with your mom though. Raven said she would call Irene an' let her know she wouldn't be home right away. When she told her, I could hear Irene laughin' on the other line."

"She probably foresaw the phone call," snickered Kurt.

"Yeah… that was a bit unnervin'," Logan admitted before taking another drink of his beer.

"Ya get used ta it," Rogue piped up, but then remembered that there would be no getting used to it anymore. She sighed and her face once again turned somber. Kurt nodded in her direction, signaling that he was thinking the exact same thing. Remy could tell the siblings both felt guilty since they'd barely given their dead aunt a second thought in comparison to their mother. He wanted to say that they shouldn't hold it against themselves, but it probably would've fallen on deaf ears. Now was a time of grieving for both of their fallen family members, so there was no point to tell them they couldn't.

Bringing them back on topic, Logan continued, "So… one thing led ta another an' here we are."

"In the cabin?" Logan nodded. Kurt glanced around more. "Who helped you design the program for it? I didn't know you were too keen on computers."

"I'm not. Xavier found out about the affair the moment I came back from California. He'd never seen me so… happy and at peace."

Rogue blinked, trying to piece everything together. "So if Momma was so happy with ya… why did Victor suddenly come in the picture? Ya obviously knew him befoh Ah came ta the institute - Ah remember you sayin' Ah smelled like him," she recalled with a cringe.

Logan rubbed his temple. How he hated this part of the story. "He was an old friend… buddy… rival of mine."

"Which was it?" Kurt asked accusingly, not liking where this was going.

"A bit of all of them. I met him probably twenty years ago in Canada. We hit it off as friends but we were always at each other's throat competin'."

"How did he meet Momma?" Rogue asked stoically; she didn't want to waste any more time with ridiculous bush beating.

Logan sighed. "Through me." As soon as he uttered those words, he was sure he'd be able to drop a pin in the room and it would echo loudly with how quiet it suddenly got in the cabin. He didn't look at either of the Darkholme children then, especially Rogue. He could feel her eyes boring into him. He could only imagine what she was thinking and didn't want to know.

Rogue stared at him with disbelief, her green eyes shining with tears. He… had introduced her mother to that monster? He had been telling her a fairy tale romance and ruined it by saying Victor was a friend of his? Her mouth opened a few times, trying to verbalize some sort of response. She had a slight feeling that this is where the conversation was going to lead, but that didn't numb the pain any less.

After a few moments of heavy silence from all three of the younger students, Rogue managed a "why?" Even the single word cracked with unshed tears and anger. Remy came up from behind her again, placing his hand on her shoulder once again. She stiffened at the touch and shied away. The motion hurt Remy as he felt Rogue close up into her internal shell. Remy could feel her tangible emotions being sucked out of the room and lock up inside her, despite her shields being superficial at best. He gasped at the sudden void of her feelings, but didn't let it show visibly.

"Rogue…" Kurt whispered.

She didn't respond.

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" Her brother asked, not completely sure himself.

She seemed to shrink in the oversized chair, her legs drawing up far into her body. She felt so small, so… betrayed. She didn't know Logan before she came to the institute, but an unbreakable relationship had grown between the two of them in her four years there. He had been one of the people to mold her into the young woman she was – he had been her protector, while she had been the outlet of his sensitivity. Considering all of this in her head, there was just something about utter betrayal that stuck out in her mind. How could he have not told her about this sooner? How did he stand by her day by day and not even hint at this secret? Why did he leave it until her world was already in a state of upheaval beyond repair? _What?_ She thought harshly. _Was he waitin' foh an' opportunity like this where he couldn't hide it anymore?_

"I…" Logan started but then stopped. Silence spoke better than words. Both Kurt and Rogue knew that. "We can do this another time…" Logan suggested in an uncharacteristically timid manner.

"No." All eyes turned to Kurt. "I want to hear this." He made his decision. It was a matter of Rogue agreeing, though if she didn't want to hear it, he wouldn't have it either.

Remy hung out by the door. "Should I get goin'…? I don' really want t' intrude." He held on to the knob of the door so tight his knuckles had paled to white. Rogue was in her shell and it burned through Remy. He flashed back to the infirmary a week before, with Rogue in a coma. He couldn't feel her then as she laid fifteen feet away, and he couldn't feel her now as she sat ten feet away. He knew she didn't mean it, but with her emotions shut off from him – even the negative feelings – he felt empty. He had to get away from her, hoping the distance would soothe the pain in his heart.

Rogue didn't seem to hear him; her arms were locked around her legs with her fingers laced tightly. Her face dipped low so her forehead touched her knees. With her face hidden, she blinked repeatedly, trying to keep back the tears that prickled at her eyes. She clenched her jaw tight, knowing that nothing would prepare her for what she wasn't even sure she wanted to hear.

_Ah can't do this_, she thought, hoping her mother's presence would hear her.

_Bethany…_ Raven's voice echoed gently through her mind. _It is up to you whether you want to know what he's going to tell you. Either he tells you now or you let it plague your every thought. _

_Why didn't you ever tell me?_

_Did you give me the opportunity?_ Her voice was tinged with sorrow. _I won't be the one to tell you now either._

_Why not?_

_Because this just seems right, honey. Let Logan tell you his side and I'll fill in the holes. I promise._

_Ah don't see why you can't be the one to tell me._

_You can't hold it against me for not telling you before._ Raven's voice became sterner.

Rogue felt guilty instantly. _Ah know. Ah just… Ah don't want this to ruin my friendship with Logan. He's been there foh me since day one, Momma. Findin' this out… knowin' that he's the reason why we were both put through hell…_

_It was my fault too, Beth. I allowed it to continue as long as it did so please don't put all the blame on him. Just let him tell you._

_You'll be here listenin', raht?_ She felt her mother nod deep within her mind. _Okay._

She sighed and slowly looked up to Logan. "Tell me," she whispered evenly while looking at him, though her eyes didn't dare meet his. She lowered her eyes to a point on the floor and focused on the knot of wood in the floorboard. She would listen to what Logan had to say, but there was no way she would maintain eye contact with him.

"Rogue?"

She didn't shift her view. "Yes, Kurt?"

"Did you want Remy in here for this?" He noticed how uncomfortable Remy appeared, standing by the door. He knew if Remy grasped the doorknob any tighter, the Cajun would've charged it with his powers. Kurt was well aware of the tension in the room without any sort of telepathy and vaguely knew of Remy's empathetic powers and their connection with Rogue. He knew if Rogue didn't open up soon, Remy would spontaneously combust, mentally or kinetically.

Rogue blinked, suddenly remembering that Remy was still in the room. Her gaze shifted up from the floor to the door, where he stood with his hand frozen on the doorknob. "Remy, Ah…" She trailed off. Did she want him in here for this? She knew that she'd locked up behind her shields; she knew it was the reason why Remy looked so uneasy. She wasn't sure how she'd react to what she was about to hear and with Remy in the room, she was afraid of how he'd react to her emotions.

But on the other hand, going through this without him seemed unfathomable.

Rogue bit her lip for a moment and with a quick glance to Kurt and Logan, she got up and strode over to where Remy stood. She placed her hand over his and turned the knob, pushing it open. "Come with me foh a second," she murmured before stepping out of the cabin, gently pulling him out by his hand.

Remy shut the door behind him and saw that they were in a random forest. The air felt cool against his flushed cheeks as he heard a stream in the distance. He glanced around for a moment, trying to take in the realistic atmosphere of the simulation before Rogue grabbed his other hand and held it tightly. "Remy, would it be entirely selfish of me ta ask you ta stay in there with me," she asked before he got the chance to even look at her.

"Quoi?" His red eyes blinked curiously down at her. "Non. Non at all, chere."

"It's jus' that…" She took a deep breath. "Ah don't know what Ah'm about ta hear an' Ah don't know if Ah can keep mahself from lockin' up an'… Ah don't want ta hurt you jus' because Ah want ya there foh moral support."

"Rogue," he whispered, pulling his hands out of hers only to bring them up to cup her face through her white forelocks to protect himself. "I don' care 'bout dat. If y' want me in dere, den I'm dere. No questions asked. If y' end up lockin' up, y' lock up. It wouldn' be de first time I wouldn' feel you."

"Ah know what it does ta you though! Ah hate hurtin' ya like that, Rem."

"It doesn' matter t' me, chere. All I care 'bout is you. You should know dat by now."

She bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. "Remy, Ah-"

He lowered his hands and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in close. "Shhh." He could slowly feel her emotions trickling out once more as she peeled the layers of her shields away. As each one hit him – sorrow, betrayal, guilt, love, anxiety – he began to feel more at ease as they caressed over him. With his empathy practically back to normal, he knew how to sift between her emotions and his own, making sure the two didn't collide. Rogue's emotions fluttered over him, warming him to the core. He finally felt at ease once again knowing that she had opened up to him.

They stood silently for a moment as Rogue allowed Remy to envelope her in his embrace. She bit back tears, blinking her eyes several times to fight the burning behind her eyes. Once she was sure she had that under control, she admitted in a voice barely above a whisper, "Ah'm scared."

"Don' be." He tilted his face down to rest on the top of her head.

"Ah mean… jus' when Ah thought he couldn't hurt me anymore, he's found another way. He's dead and he's jus' hauntin' me an' everyone else Ah know…" She buried her face into Remy's shirt, breathing in the cologne that she'd loved for so long. She hoped it would bring her comfort, but it only made her feel more nostalgic for her mother.

"Some t'ings jus' don' go away as soon as y'd like 'em to, p'tite. But de only way he'll hurt y' is if y' let him."

She pulled away from him slightly to look up into his eyes. "Ah don't think Ah ever taught mahself to not let him hurt me. An' once Ah was actually comfortable in mah own skin, he came back without warnin'! How do Ah know that this is the end of it, Remy? Ah know he's dead, but where is it written that Ah don't need to check every shadow an' analyze every creak Ah hear jus' so Ah don't hafta be afraid anymore?"

"I don' know, cherie. I can' answer dat for y' anymore den y' c'n answer it for y'self." Rogue's eyes fell from contact with his, disheartened. "But what I do know, Rogue," he started, his hands sliding up her arms to rest below her shoulders, "is dat y' are one of de strongest people I know. Y' always have been. I admire dat most in y' – how y' still find it in y' t' have hope for de future even dough de past haunts y' no matter how hard y' try. I t'ink it's de main thing I feed off of when it comes t' de empathy because I never had any f'r m'self until dere was you."

Rogue's lip quivered again but instead of biting it to calm it down, she allowed it to curve into the tiniest of smiles. "Really?" Her voice came out so small and innocent that Remy couldn't help but smirk himself.

"Really." He leaned down slightly to brush the softest of kisses on her forehead without a second thought. He felt her powers pull at his energy even with the light contact with a slight shock, but otherwise felt unaffected by their effects.

Rogue's eyes fluttered shut, her cheeks immediately flushing pink. The small touch surprised her and her mind peaked in interest at what she gained from it. She didn't feel any of his powers leak into her nor did any memories, but his feelings tickled at her own emotions as if she had his empathy for a few moments. His warmth washed over her and the sincerity of his words filled her to the brim with the necessary courage to face anything that Logan could tell her.

Slowly, she grinned and looked up to him. "Did ya know what that would do?"

"Not in de least. Felt like de right t'ing t' do dough," he smiled back. He noted that her eyes shone more brightly than normal, almost as if they had a slight glow to them. The glow lasted for only a moment until she blinked again and then it was gone. Remy could only assume it was her new abilities reacting to the touch.

"What are ya thinkin' about?" Her tone was playful. Despite everything swirling around in her head, the small kiss made a world of difference. It was such a small sign of affection but it still sent her heart soaring. And of course, she was giggling to herself in her head: _He kissed me!_

"Y' eyes were glowin' like mine f'r a moment dere," he said curiously.

"Red?" She blinked in wonder, bringing herself out of her giddy state of mind.

"Neh, green still. I wonder if dey'll turn red dough, like if y' took more of m' powers."

"We'll hafta see later on," she teased.

"Later on," he repeated, motioning to the door.

Her face fell somber. "Raht." She took a deep breath. "Ah think Ah'm ready foh this now."

"As ready as y' can be, chere."

She wrapped her arms around him once more and pulled him close for a quick hug. "Thank ya, Remy."

"Don' mention it. Dat's what 'm here f'r."

She stepped away from him and breathed in deeply once more. She reached for the doorknob with one hand and slid her other hand into Remy's. "Let's go," she said firmly. He nodded and let her lead him back into the cabin.

-----

"Victor an' I worked for the Canadian government before I started helpin' out at the Xavier Institute. Like I said before, we were always competitive. When Xavier contacted me, Creed was insanely jealous. You know that he was one of us an' he'd heard of the school before Charles found me."

"Why didn't he help out at the school too?" Kurt asked.

"Xavier asked him if he wanted to, but he declined."

"If he was so jealous, why didn't he come here?" Kurt inquired, trying to fill in all the little holes for himself. He had a feeling Rogue wouldn't speak up, so he felt it was up to him to get all the minor questions that could've been overlooked out of the way and in the open.

"…Somethin' about having to work with me again wasn't somethin' he wanted to do," Logan explained. "He knew this place was prestigious an' was a good job opportunity, but the fact that I was here first pissed him off big time. But instead of explainin' that to Xavier, he said the school thing wasn't his scene. He disappeared for a while after that."

"How long?" Rogue whispered. She gained surprised looks from both Kurt and Logan at the sound of her small voice coming from the other side of the room.

"Seven years," Logan responded after a moment. "I stayed up here with Xavier, teachin' an' stuff like that. I was able to come an' go as I pleased so I traveled here an' there. No word from Creed until right before Kurt came to the institute."

Rogue snorted. "That's convenient." She sat curled up in the oversized chair she had been in before. Remy sat leisurely on the arm of the same chair, his arm thrown around the back of the chair for balance as his one leg propped him up from the floor. He squeezed Rogue's shoulder with his other hand reassuringly at her muttered words. She turned to give him a meek smile before turning her attention back to Logan.

"He called me up about three weeks beforehand – outta nowhere. Said he'd been in Seattle for some time but didn't get too specific." Logan paused for a second to crack his knuckles loudly. "He said we should meet up for beers an' catch up since he was in the area.

"Now, I was never fond of the guy, but I didn't mind havin' a beer or two with him. There's just somethin' about reconnectin' with the past that made me not want to blow him off completely."

"Did y' two meet up?" Remy asked.

"Yeah, but not until the weekend after Kurt came an' I was back from California. We met up at the bar near here for a couple hours, shootin' the shit for a bit."

"Did ya tell him about Momma then?"

"I mentioned comin' home from California a couple days before but women were a sore subject between me an' him, so I wasn't specific."

"So how did he come to meet Mom?" Kurt asked. Rogue's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat with his question as her gloved hand snaked up to her shoulder where's Remy's hand still lay. He glanced down to her and saw her hand sneaking up to his. He stretched his hand and laced his fingers with hers, giving her hand a comforting clasp. Although he couldn't see her face, he could feel a small amount of relief come off her. '_M here, chere._

"It was about six months after you joined the institute. You were feeling more homesick than usual. "

"I remember that," Kurt spoke up eyes faraway. "It was the beginning of spring and I'd just been home in February for Mom's birthday. I remember talking to Beth about her finishing kindergarten."

Rogue vaguely heard him say her given name, but didn't correct him. She knew he was thinking back to the moment, just as she was…

-----

"Oh, Irene, don't be silly," Raven told her old friend over the phone. "I'll be fine. Kurt'll be down to play with Bethany so time with," she peered over her should to see if her daughter was in sight. She lowered her voice before continuing, "So time with Logan should be plausible, just like last time."

"I sense something different though. I saw visions of another."

"Like what?"

"I couldn't discern his or her face. It felt… feral though."

"Sure you weren't seeing Logan?" Raven laughed. She'd gossiped to Irene like a teenager about certain attributes of Logan's character, specifically in the bedroom and couldn't help but laugh about it again.

"I'm serious, Raven!" Irene laughed in return, not sounding grave at all as she knew exactly what Raven was referring to. She coughed to clear her throat and spoke again. Her voice sobered slightly as she continued. "Honestly though, please be careful when it comes to him. This is all spelling out disaster for me."

"Irene, you know I trust your visions, but something about Logan feels so… right."

"I know he does, but-"

"Momma!" A small voice cried from the other room.

"Oh dear, I should go. Beth sounds like she's gotten into something. I'll call you later." Raven said hurriedly. Irene paused before saying goodbye herself and the blue skinned woman hung up the phone on its cradle. She quickly exited her bedroom and called out to her daughter. "What's wrong, dear?" She asked, once she found the young girl in her bedroom, toys scattered everywhere.

The young girl sat on her floor, eyes downcast to the doll in her hands. At her mother's voice, she looked up with tears glimmering in her big green eyes. "Ah broke her!" She held up her doll, body in one hand and dismembered arm in the other.

A small smile came to Raven's face as she tucked a piece of bright red hair behind her ear. Crouching down beside her, she gently gathered the toy from Bethany. "We can fix this, darlin'. Don't worry."

Bethany looked up, her bottom lip pouted and quivering. "Are ya sure? She's mah favorite."

"I know she is. How about I fix her up an' you get ready for Kurt ta get here."

Bethany's green eyes immediately lit up at the mention of her brother. "Okay!" Her doll instantly forgotten, she stood up and ran around her room, gathering up any toys that needed to be put away, which meant all her dolls because she knew Kurt didn't like playing with them. However, when one doll would go away, another toy – a car, a board game, a bucket of little green army men – would come out. Bethany grinned to herself as she knew what Kurt loved to do when he came home to visit.

Raven stood up, glancing down to the doll in her blue hands. Beth had simply tried maneuvering the arm a little too hard it seemed; nothing that couldn't be repaired. She turned to take a few steps out of the room, though she didn't get too far before a small hand tugged at her long white skirt.

"Momma?"

Raven glanced down to her daughter, who had a board game hugged to her body. "Yes, Beth?"

"How much longer before Kurt gets here?"

Smiling, she bent down to her daughter's level once more. "Not much longer at all, love." She tapped Beth gently on the nose which produced a sharp giggle from the five-year-old. "Don't get too excited though; ya know you'll be exhausted by the time he arrives."

"But Ah miss seein' him everyday," she pouted.

"I know ya do. C'mon, wanna help me get dinner together? We'll be eatin' as soon as he gets here."

"Okay!" Beth's grin returned ten-fold as she dropped the board game and grabbed her mother's hand. Raven ignored the spilled game pieces with a smile and led Beth out of the room and downstairs.

-----

"Won't you come in for dinner?" Kurt asked as Logan drove their rented car to the front of the Darkholme residence.

"Nah, you go have fun with your family."

"What are you going to do while I'm here?"

He shrugged. "Roam around and take in the area. Maybe skip over the river for the night and hit New Orleans." The fibs slipped easily past the older man's lips. He liked the kid and hated lying to him, but it would probably just confuse the hell out of the ten-year-old to know his teacher was sneaking around with his mother.

Kurt reached behind his seat for his weekend bag. "Kay. I'll see you Sunday then?"

Logan nodded. "Be good, kid."

The boy smiled and pushed open his door. "Bye!" He lowered the hood he'd been wearing since they arrived in town and ran up to the front door. It opened before he reached it and Logan watched as a small girl with curly auburn hair all but leap onto him, squealing with delight. Kurt grinned and hugged her tight, dropping his bag.

Logan's eyes brightened as Raven came outside, smiling widely herself at the sight of her son.

Beth let go of Kurt long enough for Raven to hug him hello. Once his mother released him, Beth eagerly grabbed her brother's hand and began tugging him inside.

"Let him get settled, darlin'!" Raven called to Bethany laughing as the storm door swung closed behind them. She bent down to pick up Kurt's forgotten bag, overhearing Beth talk a mile a minute in the house. Once she stood up straight again, she finally acknowledged the idle car sitting down the driveway. With a sly smile, she tucked her hair behind her ears and made her way down to the car.

"Hey, stranger," Logan greeted softly when she ducked her head in the rolled down window.

"Hey yourself," she smirked. "I've missed you."

"Sorry I haven't been around lately."

"Don't mention it. I know Xavier has ya busy."

"Still." He ran one of his calloused hands through his already messy hair. "Can I see you tonight?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said smiling. Her teeth gleamed white against the dark blue of her skin.

"I still don't understand how you can walk around here like that and not be discriminated against," he said softly, reaching for the orange-red hair tucked behind her ear. He fingered it for a moment before cupping her face in his large hand.

"The people down here are strange… How they react to me is a lot different than how they'd react to Kurt." She leaned her head into the warmth of his hand. "I guess they figure that since I can change my appearance, I'm not a threat since I don't always look like a freak to them."

Logan nodded, remembering that she shifted when she's be out in public with him – not out of shame for being a mutant – but out of sheer habit. When they'd been out before, Raven confided that when she'd take the kids out separately, she'd shift accordingly. She'd stay natural while out with Kurt so he wouldn't feel singled out, but would shift into something more "normal" with Beth to allow her the façade of a regular life she couldn't give Kurt because of the appearance he'd inherited.

She had also woefully told Logan about how Kurt hated to go out but Raven wouldn't allow him to become a hermit. And while he never verbalized it or made it known to her or Bethany, Raven knew that Kurt was intensely envious of Beth's human appearance and his mother's ability to change hers at will. It was that intuition she'd felt that urged her to look into the Xavier Institute in the first place.

"I like you better like this anyway," he whispered.

She pulled away slightly and turned to press a light kiss on the palm of his hand. "I should go in."

"Where should we meet?"

"Same place as always." She glanced back to the house. "I'll ask the neighbor to keep an eye on them. Nine?"

He nodded. "I'll see ya then."

She smiled and retreated from the car. She spared him once more gaze when she reached the front door, before disappearing inside.

-----

Later that night, with Kurt and Bethany tucked into bed after a long exhausting but refreshing night of board games and movie viewing, Raven thanked her neighbor for coming over. "I should be back by ten-thirty," she told the older woman, glancing to her watch. It was going on quarter till nine then. Tucking a brown piece of hair behind her pale ear, she bid the woman goodbye and slipped outside.

Within moments, she was in her car and backing out of the driveway. Her mind raced with the thought of seeing Logan again, even if only for a little bit. She knew she couldn't risk staying out all night with him; if Kurt found out the reason why Logan actually requested to chaperone his visits home, he'd be beyond confused and hurt. Raven did love seeing her son, make no mistake, but these late night rendezvous with Logan made her feel alive again. She'd been so long without companionship, even when her husband had been alive. Even a few carefree nights every few months satisfied the craving of being with Logan – but every time it was getting harder and harder to say goodbye.

For a moment, her mind drifted back to what Irene had been saying on the phone hours earlier. She felt herself dwelling on it, twisting it and turning it over in her head. Irene's visions were vague at best, but Raven knew not to ignore them, no matter what it related to. With a sigh, she gave herself one more moment of concern over it and cleared her mind. She felt the thrill of knowing she'd be with Logan soon enough overtake her and the vision was out of her head.

After she drove out of the outskirts of her small country, she knew she'd be at their meeting place in a matter of minutes. They always met at a small bar that Raven knew well. It was dimly lit and intimate so they could seclude themselves in a corner and talk about nothing for hours.

She pulled up in front of the building with a small anxious smile on her face. As she parked, she saw the car that Logan had been driving earlier was already there. She quickened her pace as her excitement got the best of her and entered the bar. Her eyes immediately focused on the corner booth they always chose to sit in, but noted Logan wasn't waiting for her alone. His face appeared stern and annoyed and his short frame huddled over the table. She could see the top of someone's head just over the booth.

Curious, she shyly strolled back to the booth, hoping Logan would notice her before she got there. About halfway through the bar, it was almost as if as his ears perked at the sound of her heels clicking against the wooden floor. His head turned and a smile she knew he reserved for her graced his face. Feeling more relaxed, she slipped up to the booth with more confidence.

"Hey," she whispered below the hum of the bar into his ear, placing a delicate kiss right inside his sideburn.

"Hey, yerself." He slid over for her to sit with him. She graciously took the seat but found herself face to face with the person he'd been talking to. Realizing it was up to him to make introductions, Logan spoke up. "Right. Raven, this is an' old friend of mine, Victor Creed. Creed, Raven. He wasn't going to stay long but just _happened_ to be in the area," he practically snorted.

"It's nice ta meet ya," Raven said warily, noting Logan's tone of voice. Deciding to break the ice, she extended her hand across the table, which Victor accepted and shook briefly. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity she couldn't place as unnerving or welcoming. She could instantly see similarities between the two men even though they might as well have been night and day. While Logan stood at barely five foot five, she could tell that Victor towered over her lover even while he was sitting down. Victor also had blond hair that fell loosely against his face, slightly covering those indescribable dark brown eyes. She couldn't help but glance at Logan as his arm wrapped around her in a possessive manner that she wasn't used to. His cool hazel eyes pierced daggers across the table to his supposed friend and Raven couldn't help but wonder why Logan had let him sit here this long if he obviously wasn't fond of the man.

"Creed was just on his way out," Logan said evenly, not taking his eyes off of Victor.

"He's right," the other man replied, a small untamed smirk tugging on his words. He looked to Raven again.

"It was nice meetin' ya," she said again, hoping to defuse some of the tension in the small booth.

"Oh, the pleasure's been all mine," he said in a way that sent chills down her spine. He turned to Logan. "I'll be seein' ya around, pal."

"Sure," Logan scoffed as Victor got up from the table and walked away.

Silence settled over them for a moment before Raven couldn't take it. She turned to him, eyes wide with curiosity. "What the hell was that about?" Her voice was devoid of any Southern accent that she might have picked up in her time down in Mississippi.

"Not a clue. I was here waitin' for ya an' he here comes, sittin' like he owns the place."

"I thought you said you two were friends. You didn't seem too fond of him."

"'Cause I'm not. He's one of those friends who doesn't seem to get the friggin' clue that ya don't like 'em but still shows up here an' there just to piss ya off."

"How do you know him?"

"I worked with him in Canada. After I started working with Xavier he disappeared an' we got back in touch about five months ago near the school."

"Then… what's he doing this south?"

"Couldn't tell you. Maybe some detail work for whatever job he's holdin' now," Logan shrugged.

"You can't tell me you don't find that odd at all… that he just _happens_ to be down here the same weekend you are."

"Of course I do," Logan spat. "I can't imagine why he'd follow me down here."

"Did you bother to ask him?"

"We were only sittin' here a minute or two before you came in. He avoided answerin' it when I asked."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "That's just… weird."

"Hey…" he said softly, drawing her in closer. "Don't let it get to ya. The next time I see him, whenever that is, I'll make sure he knows not to bother me on another date," he smiled, trying to bring whatever lightheartedness he could back to the night.

She glanced sideways at him, her eyes flicking their natural yellow for a moment. Logan could sense that she was still feeling uneasy about the whole situation. She sighed and murmured, "Why don't you get us something to drink?" She slid out of the seat to let him out.

He nodded, watching as she switched her seat to the one Victor had just vacated. He slid out of the seat himself, sparing a glance back to her as he headed up to the bar.

-----

"After that night, I didn't see her the rest of the weekend. She'd make excuse after excuse – though it always came around to spending more time with you so I didn't push it. It still hurt though.

"I remember coming home that time. You were quieter than usual," Kurt recalled.

"Somethin' about me that night brought out a part I hadn't wanted her to see – ever. We'd talked all the time obviously, but I was always vague about my past. When Creed showed up – I couldn't help but let that side of me out.

"It scared her, she told me a little bit later. That somethin' had clicked in her head an' she couldn't talk ta me until she sorted it out. After that weekend, we didn't talk for almost a month."

"That's when you disappeared and no one knew where you went," Kurt said, "Except maybe for Xavier."

Logan nodded then sighed. "I went searching for Creed – for what he had been doin' all these years, why he'd suddenly come out of nowhere… anythin'. When I ran out of leads in Washington State three weeks later, I came back. I finally called her and found out that she'd started seein' him."

Kurt's jaw hung open. "How does that even work?"

The older man shook his head. "Couldn't tell ya, kid. After she told me I had to hang up."

Rogue sat silently, pondering everything Logan had just told the three of them. She felt detached from the room – her only anchor being Remy's hand on her shoulder. _Momma?_ She projected to the back of her mind, hoping her mother was still listening.

_I'm here_.

_Ah need ya ta fill in the gaps here. Ah got an inklin' of what ya experienced while he told us what happened, but Logan can't tell us 'bout how you an' Victor started seein' each other. _

She sat silently for a moment, her hand fluttering up to her temple as her mother gently showed her the other side of the story. After a few quiet moments, she whispered with a slight grimace, "He'd been watchin' her."

Remy looked down to her from his perched position on the arm of the chair. "Watchin' her?"

"She figured it out after they started seein' each other. He was almost stalkin' her in a way."

Everyone sat in a sort of stunned silence for a moment, taking what Rogue had said to mind. After almost a whole minute of agonizing silence, Remy was the first to speak up, voicing no doubt what the other two males in the room were thinking. "What I don' get, an' no 'ffense t' y' maman, but how exactly did she come t' be wit' him if he was stalkin' her?"

"He didn't make it seem like that," Rogue answered, drawing on her mother's memories.

-----

Kurt had been back up at school for about a week when Raven saw Victor again. She'd been at the grocery store with Bethany, doing some light shopping. She had a basket in one hand and Beth's small hand in the other.

"Momma, can Ah get that?" Beth asked, pointing excitedly at the candy in the aisle.

"No, darlin'. Ya had some sweets earlier today."

Beth huffed and pouted. "But Ah didn't have _that_ much."

"Sweetie, no. Ya have stuff at home."

The young girl huffed again, yanking her hand out of her mother's grasp. She crossed her arms over her small chest, her patented pout ever present on her face.

"Bethany Marie," Raven said in a warning tone. "No candy."

"Fine," she snorted, leaving her arms crossed. She followed her mother obediently as they left the candy filled aisle. Beth's feet shuffled sluggishly in her sandals, losing pace with her mother step by step. Once Raven turned onto the canned food aisle, Beth was ten steps behind. With a smirk, she watched her mother glance down, thinking that Beth was still beside her.

"Beth?" Raven looked down, not seeing her daughter. She instantly went into worry mode even though she knew exactly where to find her.

Clutching her basket tightly, she left the canned food aisle and saw Beth giggling and running back to the candy aisle.

_That girl could never hear 'no,'_ Raven scowled as she quickened her pace.

"Bethany Marie Darkholme, you come back here!" she called, her tone promising quite a disciplining when they got home.

She turned into the aisle and saw that her daughter had been stopped in her tracks. Standing before her smiling gently was none other than Victor Creed. Beth looked startled and glanced back, seeing her mother in the entrance of the aisle. Her face instantly relaxed as she caught her mother's green eyes and she fled to the security of the space behind her legs.

Raven, however, was a little surprised at seeing her lover's friend still in the area. She hadn't spoken to Logan since the weekend before, thanks to how he'd reacted to seeing the man before her.

She blinked, eyes flashing yellow defensively for a moment, making sure Victor knew who – and what – he was dealing with.

Victor spoke up first. "Raven… right?" He held out his hand. "We met last week."

With an eyebrow quirked, she reached out and shook his hand in return. "Ah'm surprised ya recognized me," she responded after taking her hand back. It'd been dark in the bar that night and she was wearing her hair shorter then too.

"You don't forget a face like yours," he said, smiling disarmingly.

Before she could stop it, a slight blush reddened her cheeks. Beth peeked around Raven's body, noticing that her mother seemed to know the man standing in front of them. She stepped out from behind Raven, keeping her eyes warily on Victor.

"I didn't realize you had a daughter," Victor observed, glancing down to Beth.

"Ah wouldn't have expected Logan ta mention it ta you," she retorted. She reached down and placed her hand on Bethany's shoulder, hugging her daughter to her leg. "Ah didn't realize you were still in the area. Logan said you were pretty vague about why ya were down here ta begin with."

"I'm here on business. My… trip got extended," he explained, taking a step closer to the two of them.

"An' what is it that you do, Mister Creed," Raven asked cautiously, hugging Beth closer to her body. Something about Victor set off every defensive alarm in Raven's body, and yet she still found herself slightly attracted to him in a way she didn't understand. Maybe it was the similarity he had with Logan? Or maybe it was because Logan had managed to unnerve her so much the previous weekend about this man that she couldn't help but be intrigued by him. Especially when she added Irene's vision into the equation – Logan _had_ been the feral face that Irene had seen. Raven had never seen his eyes flash as dangerously as they had that night and she wasn't sure how she could deal with it. Victor had the same appearance, but something about him was oddly different and it drove her crazy that she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Research," he stated simply. "I could explain more about it, but not here."

"And where would you prefer?"

"Someplace a little more comfortable, like dinner or somethin'."

"Are you askin' mah momma out?" Both of them looked down to Beth, who hadn't spoken the entire time. She seemed a little excited that her mother was being propositioned by this man. He had frightened her at first because he had suddenly just been in front of her when she was fleeing back to the candy aisle, but seeing as how her mother apparently knew him, her nerves had calmed down and instead she was filled with curiosity. She'd never seen her mother interact with another man save for her father, and her memories of that were fading with each day since he'd died when she was so young.

"Maybe I am." His gaze shifted back to Raven, a smirk splayed across his face.

She blinked at him again, astonished that he was in fact asking her out. He knew for a fact that she was seeing Logan. Then again, things were kind of left open ended after he'd left with Kurt because she didn't know where their relationship was headed. They weren't official a couple by any means because becoming official would have meant explaining to her children that she was dating her son's teacher which was not a position she wanted to put herself or Kurt into. However, a night with Victor may not have been that bad an idea; perhaps she could find out why exactly Logan reacted to him so strangely the week before.

Raven smiled and shifted the weight of her food basket in her arm. "We'll have ta see, Mister Creed."

"Please, call me Victor," he insisted. He fished into his jacket pocket for a business card. After retrieving it, he handed it to Bethany. Bending down to her, he whispered, "You tell your momma to call the number on there when she wants to talk to me." He smiled and glanced up to Raven again. "I'll talk to you later," he said, waving nonchalantly before turning his back to them and walking down the aisle.

Raven watched him with curious yellow eyes as he disappeared around the corner and turned her attention to her daughter when she felt a tug on her hand. "Es… Es… Momma, what's that say?" Bethany gave the card to Raven, pointing at the bold letters above Victor's name and number.

"Essex Technologies, darlin'." She gave it another glance before slipping it into her purse. "C'mon, we should finish up here so we can head home."

Bethany nodded, grabbing her mother's hand. "Are ya goin' ta see him? Ah think ya should. He seems nice for a boy."

Raven laughed. "Maybe, honey. We'll see."

-----

Rogue stopped the flow of memories as she 'remembered' the two of them exiting the candy aisle once more. "She called him that night an' they went out ta dinner," she said, rounding off the story. "Ah don't think we need ta go any further," she sighed. She had remembered being excited for her mother meeting Victor – she naively thought the instant that her mother met another man and fell in love that everything would be happy. She scoffed at what she now knew, hoping she could've been even twice as wise about everything then as she was now.

She felt her mother slink back to the deep part of her mind, hiding in her guilt and embarrassment, knowing she had been just as foolish. Rogue vaguely heard Raven apologize once more before she disappeared for the time being.

"Y' okay, chere?"

She blinked up to Remy. Tears glistened in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She blinked a few more times, hoping they would go away but a lone tear slid out anyway. "Yeah," she whispered, reaching up to rub it off her cheek. "Ah'm fine. Ah think Ah've had enough foh tonight though."

Kurt nodded. "Me too," he said solemnly. He stood up, glancing to Logan. He didn't know whether or not to thank the man, but just settled for a meek smile before crossing the room slowly to the door. "Are you guys coming?"

Remy stood up from the arm of the chair, stretching slightly. "Oui."

"Ah am, too," Rogue said, pulling herself out of the large armchair. "You stayin' here, Logan?"

He shook his head. "I'll be up in a minute. I need to find Hank."

She tilted her head to the side slightly, sliding her hand into Remy's outreached hand. "What is it?"

"Somethin' occurred to me that I need to ask him."

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but she'd had enough for the evening. Recalling her mother's memories had taxed on her mind greatly and she felt fatigued, even more so after she stood up. "Ah'll talk to ya in the mornin' then."

"Night, kid." He nodded to the two boys. Kurt exited the cabin first, Remy and Rogue on his heels.

-----

Kurt teleported Rogue, Remy and himself up to the main floor of the institute after leaving the "cabin." His tail hung low with everything they'd just heard. However, his main concern was for his sister. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded, keeping a hand by her temple with her other arm leaning on Remy for balance. "Ah'm just tired. Bringin' up Momma's memories in mah head wore me out more than Ah thought they could."

"Let's get y' up t' bed den, eh chere?" Remy wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"C'mon, I'll give you guys a lift."

"Kurt?" All three turned their heads as Kitty came running in from the other room. "Hey, I thought I heard you guys up here. 'Ro said you guys rushed out of the den a couple hours ago – is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Kit," Kurt replied, keeping his head low.

The brunette blinked between Rogue and Kurt for a moment, half-hoping someone would fill her in on why they appeared so glum. After seeing that no one was going to open up right then and there, she decided not to press the matter. "I see… well, I'll just leave you guys alone." She put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "If you need to talk, buddy, let me know." She smiled sympathetically before turning her back to them to exit the main foyer.

Kurt glanced to his sister and Remy for a moment before calling out to Kitty. "Hey, Kitty, wait." As she stopped in her track, he turned to Rogue again. "Will you guys be alright getting upstairs? I kinda need to run this whole thing by someone on the outside, if you know what I mean."

"Sure, mon ami. I got her," Remy responded.

Kurt smiled at him gratefully before reaching out to hug Rogue. "If you need me at all-"

"Ah know where ta find ya," she said as she hugged him back. "G'night, Elf."

As Kurt walked off to tell Kitty what he could, Remy began walking Rogue up the stairs. "Ah'm happy he has a friend like her here," she said idly as they ascended the grand staircase. "Ah remember Momma was so worried about him makin' friends."

"Kit was de first one t' reach out t' y', too," Remy recalled.

Rogue nodded, remembering the hotel gift shop wistfully. "That all seems like a lifetime ago," she breathed. "It's crazy how much has happened."

"Tell me about it," he chuckled in attempts of keeping the conversation upbeat.

"Honestly though, we have the best support system in the world. Ah never imagined how unconditionally carin' a group of people could be." They finally reached the top step and began the trek to Rogue's room.

"I know what y' mean. I was jus' happy f' a place t' live when we got here. We got a whole new family here."

Rogue nodded, sighing.

"What's wrong?"

"The whole idea of family. It's always stung ever since things with Victor got bad. When we got here, this new family was more than Ah could've dreamed of, but Ah still missed Momma. Findin' out about her an' Logan an' everythin'… just makes me feel so guilty for being so stubborn an' not talkin' ta her."

They reached her door and entered the room slowly. "It's in de past, chere. No point in beatin' y'self up over it, no matter how much y' want to."

"It feels better havin' her up here," she said, tapping her temple. "But it's still a lingerin' feelin'. An' Ah don't think it'll go away anytime soon." She pulled away from Remy to sit on her bed. She sighed and fell back on her pillows, savoring the feeling of her own bed once again. It'd felt like an age since she'd relaxed on it.

Remy smiled, enjoying the content look on her face. He could still sense her previous feeling of nostalgia and guilt, but he felt simple relief roll over him from her side of the room. "Feelin' better?"

She found her golden angel bear under her left arm and hugged it close. "A li'l bit. Mah head is still beat but Ah'm startin' ta relax again."

"Bon, chere." He crossed the room and sat near the foot of her bed. "It's gettin' late dough. Maybe we should get y' t' sleep."

She sat up, placing the bear beside her. "Ah'm not ready ta fall asleep yet," she said with a slight whine in her voice.

"Dis is de part where y' yawn an' rub y' eyes anyway," he joked.

"Ah'm serious, Remy! Ah don't want ta fall asleep."

He scrutinized her face for a moment and crooked an eyebrow. "Y' afraid, ain' y'."

She looked away. "If today doesn't end, Ah can't dream about it – or even worse bring up more memories of him."

"Y' haven' b'fore dough."

"Ah have dreams with mah mother every night now – every time Ah sleep naturally she's there. Who's ta say Ah won't mistakenly bring forward her memories of him while Ah'm dreamin' an' mah head just thinks it's like Ah did today; like Ah opened the Pandora's Box of mah mind or somethin'."

"Chere," he edged closer to her on the bed. "Y' can' t'ink so pessimistically all de time."

She sighed. "It's so much easier. There's a lot less disappointment if ya don't get your hopes up."

"Remember what I tol' you – about hope?"

She nodded slowly. "Ah'm tryin', Rem. After hearin' 'bout Vic an' all…"

"Y' know what, chere? Y' didn' hide y'self at all durin' dat whole t'ing, an' dat tells me somet'in' 'bout how y' were dealin' wit' it. Dat also tells me dat de hope is dere, y' just pushin' it away. So jus' keep tryin' f' me, Rogue. Promise me dat."

She looked up to him and behind a few tendril of white he saw her eyes gleaming with a glimmer of slight optimism "Ah can do that."

"Good. Now we jus' need t' work on dis sleep t'ing an' we'll be in good shape, non?" He smirked.

"What can we do that'll make me fall asleep?"

"Well, dere's de typical watch a movie, do each other's nail an' hair till we pass out…"

Rogue threw him an amused look. "Ah'm serious."

"So am I. It's fun when y' play wit' m' hair!" he laughed.

She smirked, batting her eyes playfully. "Any other bright ideas?"

"Hmm… we could have Henri come up here an' lecture y' on… nucleotides or somet'in' like dat. Dat would knock y' right out."

She almost laughed, but then her expression turned thoughtful at the mention of Hank. "What do ya think Logan had ta talk ta him about?"

Remy shrugged. "Couldn' tell y'. Dat does seem odd dat he had t' talk t' him t'night. Henri's usually in his lab workin' dis time of night, even if we did have de party."

"He's been workin' on mah mutation too, tryin' ta figure out what Victor did ta me."

"Do y' t'ink Logan t'ought of somethin' while y' were talkin'?" he suggested.

"Ah don't know…" She began racking her mind for the memory, quickly skimming over it for any clues. Her mind protested, wanting to shut down and just sleep. Rogue felt the oncoming of another headache just as she found it.

"Essex Technologies," she whispered, focusing on the card that Victor had given her. She swayed back and forth slightly.

"Rogue, y' okay?" Remy grasped her hand.

"Ah'm… fine," she replied after a moment. She shoved the memories away and sighed. "Now Ah'm really tired…" she murmured, rubbing her temple with her free hand.

"We'll figure dis out in de mornin' den." He let got of her hand and pushed himself off the bed.

"Where are ya goin'?"

"Gettin' y' sleepin' clothes. Y' didn' want t' stay in y' jeans, did y'?" He threw a smirk over his shoulder as he crossed the room.

"Oh." She tucked some strands of hair behind her ear shyly. "Are ya stayin' here tonight?"

"If y' want me to, I will. I can camp out on de floor," he said as he found her a large t-shirt and shorts to change into. "Here," he began as he handed them to her. "Why don' y' put dese on while I go t' my room real quick t' get changed m'self."

Rogue nodded, accepting the clothes from him. A headache pounded through her head, commanding her to fall asleep. She stood up, placing the clothes behind her. "You'll be raht back?" she asked Remy as he walked over to the door.

"Right back, chere." He felt her sleepiness plod around him. "Y' jus' tuck y'self right in t' bed after y' get changed, hein?" he suggested as he stepped outside.

"Kay…" he heard her say as he shut the door behind her. Quickly, he strode across the institute to the men's quarters. He could hear murmurs of people in their rooms and still downstairs. He didn't check the time while he was in Rogue's room, but he imagined it was past ten o'clock at least. They'd been down in the danger room for quite some time. Faintly he could hear Bobby downstairs, joking with Jubilee about who could out drink the other, so Remy could only guess that the older adults had either retreated to their rooms or to the den to relax.

Remy reached his room and quickly retrieved a pair of sweat pants and a white undershirt to wear to bed. He was about to exit his room when an idea struck him. He snatched a zip-up hoodie from his desk chair and then left his room.

He made it back to Rogue's room within a minute and silently slipped in. He turned to check on her and smiled. There she was, already curled up asleep on her bed. It looked like she'd just had enough energy to change out of her clothes before she crawled onto the bed and passed out.

Remy slipped over to her bed quietly, kicking her discarded clothes out of the way briskly and dropping his hoodie. He gently gathered the corner of her comforter and pulled it out from under Rogue. She murmured in protest.

"Hey, chere," he whispered as he dipped his face close to hers. "Y' should get under de covers."

"Mmhmm…" she nodded without opening her eyes. She tucked her legs up so Remy could pull the blankets out from under her completely before replacing them over her. He gently tucked her in, smirking all the while. "Sleep well, cherie. I'll be here when y' wake."

Rogue stirred slightly, nodding again. She tucked her hands underneath her pillow and pulled it close to her. She sunk into the comfort of it, a small smile curling her lips. Remy planted a soft kiss on the top of her head before pulling away. He took a few steps back away from the bed and bent down to pick up his hoodie. He slipped it over his arms quickly and with a final look to Rogue, he slunk out of the room with the same grace that he'd entered it.

After he shut the door to her room, he turned on his sock covered heel and headed to the elevator. With a smirk, he remembered his first instance of stumbling onto the elevator, his finger tracing the tiny blue button below the ground level button. He pressed the blue button and watched as the doors swished closed in front of him.

As the elevator traveled swiftly to the underground levels of the institute, Remy thought _Rogue may want t' wait what Logan wanted t' find out from Henri, but I'm can't._ He chanted 'Essex Technologies' over and over in his head, writing it into his memory so he could ask Hank and Logan about it the instant he saw them.

He had seen the look in Logan's eyes when Rogue said it while she recalled Raven's memory. It was a flash of recognition so slight that Remy probably wouldn't have caught without his empathy. He'd glanced up from Rogue to Logan and saw it in his cool hazel eyes. At the time, Remy wasn't sure if it had been the mention of Essex Technologies that made something in the older man remember it, or if it was something else. However, Remy knew it was too much to be a coincidence – Logan had been tracking Victor's whereabouts and ran out of leads all those years ago, plus Essex Technologies sounded like something that would deal with genetics and chemical drugs to Remy, so Hank had to know something about it, especially if he needed help in figuring out what had happened to Rogue's powers.

And that's what it all came down to – Remy wanted to find out what had happened to her more than anything. He hated being clueless about the incident and he knew she felt the same way. If he could do anything to solve it all for her, he would.

TBC…

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I honestly don't know where to begin with you guys. If you made it this far and you're a reader who still amazingly found this through your author alerts, I love you. And if you're a new reader who stumbled across the new chapter and read through all the previous chapters, thank you so much, I love you too.

I owe all of you so much for waiting so long for this story. I could go into every detail of the last two years and explain to you why I neglected it and abandoned you all, but you deserve more than my horrible excuses. Just know that I'm back now and this story is going to be finished. I can't promise when it'll be finished, but I assure you that it will be.

I've been sitting on this, agonizing about how you will react to seeing it on the update page. I wanted to make it long enough (11,349 words) just so I could make it up to those who have been waiting so unnecessarily long for this update. I originally just wanted it to be about 10,000 words, but then I just kept adding to it while editing, haha. But yeah, now I sit here with sweaty palms, anticipating what you all thought. So please, review, critique, flame, whatever.

Much love to you all. I wouldn't be a fraction of the writer I am without you guys reading what I have here.

Courtney.


	27. Midnight Conversations

**Street Livin' – Chapter 27**

Remy slinked down the metallic corridor leading to Hank's lab almost silently. He naturally kept quiet while making his way there, though he knew he'd be detected before he reached the doorway. Even his ability to sneak just about anywhere was no match for Logan's nose.

_Stupid dog-like senses_, Remy internally scoffed. He was getting closer and closer, knowing it would only be a matter of time before he heard "Gumbo" muttered angrily from twenty feet away.

As he got nearer, Remy became more and more curious as he didn't hear a thing. He didn't even hear hushed voices.

He reached the lab door and saw Hank sitting at his computer alone. Remy focused on the blue mutant's profile and saw that Henry was in deep thought over what was on the screen. Remy watched as Hank clicked his mouse once, tapped a few keys with his deft paws on the keyboard, and then stopped to scribble something down on his notepad by the computer.

Remy watched him for another moment before taking another step into the lab. Hank still appeared completely engrossed in whatever had his attention on the screen.

"Ahem," Remy cleared his throat. He hated to bother Hank since he was obviously busy, but he was a mutant with a mission.

Hank instantly turned his head to his visitor but was not startled. He appreciated small interruptions in his work, knowing full well that he could get fully absorbed in anything he was researching. Jean usually came down to visit Hank and brush up on her genetics, but mostly she would visit only to tell Hank to go to bed – that he'd been cooped up down here much too long. It was very common of him to lose track of time in the windowless laboratory, especially when he'd made a breakthrough on whatever he happened to be studied.

Like tonight.

"What can I get for you, Remy?" Hank asked, standing up and walking over to his mini refrigerator. He opened the door and retrieved a carton of orange juice. Remy peeked around the doctor and saw food items on the door of the fridge and Petri dishes organized among the shelves inside. Hank turned and saw Remy casting a glance. "Would you care for some?" He offered as he found his glass and reached for another.

"Non… merci," Remy replied, taking a few more steps into the room. "Did Logan come down here?"

"Why, yes." Hank's hand abandoned the extra glass. "You just missed him actually. If you're looking for him, I imagine you could catch him before he leaves."

_Leaves?_ Remy thought, his eyebrows springing up. "Where's he goin'?"

Hank paused for a moment to pour his orange juice. He liked the super pulpy kind. Remy watched as the chunks of oranges plop out of the carton and into the glass.

"To Seattle," Hank answered shortly before taking a gulp of his juice. He topped off the glass once more and then replaced the carton back in the fridge.

"Seattle?" _Logan mentioned Victor having worked out dere before._ "What's he goin' dere for? Does it have t' do wit' Essex Technologies?"

Hank perked a dark blue eyebrow up. "It does indeed." He placed his glass a safe distance from his computer and reached for another chair close by. After sitting it near the computer, Hank took a seat in his original chair, motioning for Remy to sit down as well.

Remy obliged, his mind filling up more questions as he sat down. "Are dey connected t' what happened wit' Rogue's powers?"

"How did you find out about Essex Technologies?" Hank asked him instead, clicking back on his computer.

Choosing his words carefully, as he didn't want to reveal too much, Remy kept it simple. "Rogue remembered it from awhile ago – when she first met Victor."

Hank nodded, pushing his glasses up on his nose. He clicked a few things on the computer. A window disappeared while another popped up. Remy glanced to the clock in the corner of the screen and saw that it was almost 11:30. He didn't realize that much time had passed while they had been in the danger room. He stifled a yawn and turned his attention to what else was on the screen.

"What's dat?" Remy tilted his head and squinted his eyes at the image before him.

"This," Hank began, "is what Rogue's blood cells looked like after we returned to the institute that night."

"Are dey s'pose t' be doin' dat?" Remy pointed at the screen. The small pinkish blob pulsated unnaturally and looked as if they were glowing.

"No, it's not." Henry clicked again and brought up another image. "This is what a normal red blood cell looks like – well, what a normal mutant cell looks like," he corrected himself. "Hers have since returned to normal, thankfully, but I'm still curious of the after effects, naturally." He glanced down briefly to his notes. "You know what it is that makes us different, right Remy?"

He nodded. "De X-Factor. We're born wit' it in our DNA."

"Exactly." Then he smirked, letting his fangs show slightly. "You **were** paying attention in genetics class after all. But I know you're not here for extra credit so allow me to explain what I believe happened when Rogue was injected with Victor's serum." With another click, he brought up another image. Remy recognized it as a strand of DNA. "This is what Rogue's DNA was before the injection. See this –" Hank pointed the mouse at a part of the strand. "- Is where her particular X-Factor resides."

"Dat pink bit?"

"Yes, only it's not pink in actuality… This is just a model."

Remy smiled patiently. "Do I really seem t' not pay attention in y' class?"

"If you call that attentive, Remy, I'd say you'd have a decent shot in our drama program… that is, if we had one." Hank laughed at his own little joke.

"So what happened after de serum?"

Hank cleared his throat and brought himself back to the serious side of the conversation. He clicked again and the image came to life. The pink strand became fuzzy and bits of it broke away from the main strand of DNA. "It negated her powers by weakening the X-Factor in her DNA. I observed this immediately after you both were stabilized that evening. What I am still trying to understand is how this all caused her mental… explosion, forgive me for saying, of all the powers she'd accumulated over the years, seeing as how her powers were negated, then she had the alien powers, and then was back to nothing once more."

He clicked once more, bringing up yet another image. "However with that all said, this was her DNA upon leaving the infirmary earlier today before the party."

"It looks like it's back t' normal," observed Remy.

"I thought so as well, until I took a closer look." Hank enlarged the before and after shots. "It's faint, but you can see that her X-Factor strand is indeed thicker than before."

Remy compared the two with his eyes curiously for a moment before responding. "I don't get it. A strand of DNA is microscopic – how does de size of it make a difference?"

"It's more in the coding if anything," Hank explained. "Take a look at this, though." He brought up yet another image of a DNA strand and set it next to the post-serum DNA and enlarged them as he had with the previous two.

"Dey look exactly alike."

"That is because they basically are. I could elucidate the coding and say where the anomalies lie with a certain G here or a C there, but yes, the DNA's are almost identical."

"So whose DNA is dat?" Remy asked, pointing at the screen again.

"Her mother's." Henry removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Now, I know what you're thinking. It is her mother and they do in fact have similar DNA to begin with, but every mutant has a unique X-Factor. It's rare to find a pair as close in structure as these two appear to be, even between blood relatives. As I'm not exactly sure what the serum's actual purpose was, save for negating the X-Factor, this is all hypothetical, but I believe that Rogue must have absorbed her mother just as the serum wore off."

A lump formed in Remy's throat. He knew Rogue wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone that she'd absorbed Raven before she died. He imagined that only Kurt, Logan and himself knew – at least that's what he'd thought up until ten seconds before.

Remy also knew that Rogue didn't want the other to know how exactly her powers had changed – but Hank had the genetic evidence right in from of them. Would he be betraying Rogue if he told Hank, if only to reaffirm the doctor's theory? It was in the best interest of Rogue that Remy tell Hank what he knew.

Hank noted Remy's change of mood – the younger mutant was trying to hide something. Hank knew how secretive Rogue and Remy were with each other – the whole institute knew. He'd get Remy to willingly open up though. _Years of teaching introverted teens has taught me a thing or two_, he thought with a smile. "Remy, remember when she absorbed Kurt hour ago? I overheard her saying that she thought she had her mother's powers."

Remy blinked. He'd somehow forgotten that Rogue had submitted to a quick exam after absorbing her brother – Hank already knew about the shapeshifting. Remy breathed out in relief. "Y' promise not t' tell a soul?"

"Doctor patient confidentiality, my friend."

"It's pretty obvious she absorbed her maman, right?" Hank nodded so Remy continued, his voice grave, "but she did it right as Raven died, actually."

"Fascinating…" Remy could tell Hank was fighting the urge to take notes. His paws twitched ever so slightly and his eyes jetted over to his notepad for a fraction of a moment, but he remained solemn and listened to what Remy had to say.

"So Raven is up dere wit' her." Remy tapped to his head.

"Up… in her mind?"

Remy nodded. "Maybe permanently. Rogue's a li'l reluctant t' tell anyone dis dough. She's afraid of bein' put down here again."

"Understandable. I wouldn't dream of doing anything against her wishes though."

"I know y' wouldn', Henri. Her trust is a bit shot after everyt'in' dat happened, dough." _Not t' mention findin' out her mother had an afraid wit' one of her mentors_, he mentally added. _Xavier knew 'bout de affair, but dere's no tellin' who else might know._

Hank nodded, understanding completely. "I did not reveal anything to the Professor or the others about her examination. I'd assumed she would tell them when she was ready to disclose the information."

"Den we're on de same page?" Remy internally sighed with relief.

"Indeed we are. However, you confirming these details leads me to wonder…" Hank glanced back to the computer screen and his eyes squinted as thoughts processed through his mind.

"What is it?" Remy watched as Hank formulated a plan mentally. The doctor's eyes dance from the computer, to his notes, and back to the screen again.

"Now I'm not an expert in these dealings by any means because this is more likely to be hypothesized by a psychic, but perhaps when Rogue absorbed her mother, the invasion caused the subsequent eruption of all the powers… I believe that makes sense, does it not?"

Remy nodded.

"Add all of the events plus the emotional overload…"

Remy interrupted. "Y' promise not t' tell de professor? Not yet at least," he half pleaded. He hated talking about these matters without Rogue with him. He wanted to get her answers more than anything, but he wouldn't continue searching if it would cause her any strife with the other.

Hank almost looked insulted. "Remy, I wouldn't betray your, or Rogue's trust so carelessly. However going back to our previous topic… I do have one request." Hank peered over his notes again. Remy could see the cranks turning in the good doctor's brain. With a tentative nod from Remy, Hank continued. "With Rogue's permission, of course, I'd like to perform a test. I would've done it sooner but I wasn't aware of what I know now."

"'M not sure what y' mean, homme…"

"I'm vaguely familiar with shapeshifter DNA and would love the opportunity to study it further. Now while Rogue isn't entirely a conventional shapeshifter, I am curious to see how her DNA would react in an absorption scenario."

"Y' mean, compare her DNA t' de person she be absorbin'?"

"Yes. As I said though, I would only do it with her full consent."

Remy thought about it for a moment, weighing the options in his head. She would probably be angry at the thought of being used as a lab rat, but knew she had to find out what was happening with her mutation. Plus, the experiment sounded safe enough – Hank always handled everything with the utmost care, especially his patients. If he wasn't sure it could be handled safely, he wouldn't have suggested it. "I'll talk t' her in de mornin', see what she's up for."

"It's nothing that has to be done immediately. I think we can both agree that she deserves a couple days of complete normalcy without having to worry herself with this."

Remy chuckled. "Yeah, really. I t'ink she's earned a lifetime of it by now." Hank nodded gravely while he took a moment to take another sip of his orange juice while Remy glanced past the keyboard to Hank's notes. His eyebrows knit together as his red eyes drifted over the words "Essex Technologies." Talk about Rogue's mutation had almost made him forget his initial mission for the evening. "So where do dey come in?" He asked, nodding thoughtfully to Hank's notes.

Hank lowered his glass to the table once again and followed Remy's line of sight. "We've come to believe that Victor obtained the serum from them – whether it was given to him or he gained it in another way, we don't know."

"Why is Logan goin' t' Seattle?"

"Their headquarters are located there and Logan remembered the search for Victor ended in the city years ago. We connected details as they have appeared in recent unrelated research of mine."

"What's Logan goin' t' find out?"

"Anything he can. All the information I've found in news articles and web searches has been vague at best, unfortunately. It turns out that the corporation is very underground. We both hope that by going directly to the source we may get more answers."

"Dat seems like a good idea," Remy responded before suddenly yawning. It overtook him with a shudder before he could stifle it.

"Am I boring you, Remy?" Hank smiled warmly. "Wouldn't be the first time, I suppose..."

"Non! It's not dat at all. 'S been a long day, Henri."

"Oh, I know. You know how much fun I get out of picking on my students."

Remy stood up, smirking. "Had no idea, homme."

"Go get some sleep, Remy. If Jean happens to be looking for me, inform her I'll be up shortly. I'd hate for her to come down for me at this hour."

"Will do." Remy started for the exit. "Night, Henri."

-----

Remy's feet touched the soft carpet landing of the upper levels a few minutes later. He yawned again as he turned in the direction of Rogue's room. _Didn_' _realize how tired I really am…_

Less than a minute later, he was standing by the foot of her bed, watching her sleep. He smiled, unzipping his hoodie and tossing it on top of Rogue's earlier discarded clothes. He turned away from her for a moment to retrieve her sleeping bag from her closet.

As he unrolled it on the floor by her bed, he suddenly felt an unwanted nostalgia for the streets, and how even sleeping on the floor at Xavier's was a luxury to the cold floor of where ever he'd been spending the night then. It almost amused him how thoughts of homelessness occurred to him at the most random moments – rolling out the sleeping bag, having a wide selection of clothing to choose from for any particular day, not worrying about filling his stomach up with warm food. The feeling would strike him without warning and he would dwell on it for a moment before shoving it to the back of his mind. The spontaneous thoughts always made him feel more grateful for the chances he'd been given and for having the family that he had now.

With a content smile, he reached onto Rogue's bed for an extra pillow. The girl must have had five pillows on her bed at any given time, but only settled on two at the most when she drifted off to sleep. He slid the pillow off her bed carefully so as not to disturb her even though her head was no where near the particular pillow and dropped it onto the sleeping bag.

He turned to her once more, sitting down lightly on the edge of the bed. There was something so innocent about her sleeping form. She always curled up on her side with her hands tucked underneath her head on her pillow. Her hair delicately framed her face, giving it an ethereal glow in the moonlight due to the white strands. Her lips seem to always curl into the faintest of smiles whilst dreaming, unless she was having a nightmare.

Remy peered at her, curious if she was dreaming about her mother again like she'd admitted before. He listened to hear if she'd let it slip again unconsciously as she had earlier that evening in front of the fire. Upon hearing nothing, he smiled, hoping she was dreaming about something other than the events of the day. Casting a final glance over her, he lay down and settled into his makeshift bed on the floor. He twisted around for a minute or so before relaxing into the sleeping bag and pillow. His eyes drooped shut once more and he fell into a dreamless but content sleep.

-----

"How long did it go on foh, Momma?"

"What do you mean?" Raven leaned back in her chair by the fire. The smell of pine permeated through the room as the fire roared on. Rogue sat by the flames, her cheeks pink with the heat.

"Ah know it didn't end after that weekend." Her eyes didn't leave her mother's for an instant. The fire flickered in her green eyes, flashing them gold, much like her mother's natural eye color.

Raven stared unblinkingly at her daughter. "How did you know?"

"Logan wouldn't have been so crushed when ya died if it had been over almost ten years ago. The way ya're starin' at me isn't helpin' yoah case either."

"I don't know how to explain this…"

"Victor knew about it too, didn't he." Her voice came out as a cold whisper and Raven knew Rogue wasn't asking by any means. "Ya let it go on. Ah wanna know for how long."

Raven broke eye contact with Rogue finally to stare down at her hands. Her daughter's soul searching glare reached out under the blazing fire, feeling cold against her blue skin. She could only imagine Rogue had learned the stare from her after so many years of watching her glare at Victor with such a vicious loathing.

"The last time I saw him was about six months before Victor kidnapped us," Raven admitted softly. "I hadn't seen him for almost a year before that as I went into hiding from Victor."

"Victor knew 'bout it too, though," Rogue repeated, her tone unchanging. "When did he find out?"

Her mother sighed. "After Victor and I got married, Logan showed up at the house. Vic was busy making preparations with your things in his house…"

-----

Carefully, she gathered the stack of plates from the cabinet and placed them in the bubble wrap-lined box beside her on the counter. The radio played a gentle soft rock tune and Raven hummed along, bouncing her head to the rhythm. She smiled to herself, feeling a sense of security wash over her as she situated the flatware in the box. She had a family once again – something that she knew was inherently missing since her husband died.

She faintly heard the front door swing open and creak closed. Raven looked up curiously. She wasn't expecting Victor to help her with the odds and ends, especially since he was so engrossed with setting up Bethany's room before she was to be picked up from school.

"Victor?" She called as she craned her neck around the kitchen doorway. Upon seeing no one, she laughed to herself. _Must be hearing things_, she thought to herself as the trees waved in the breeze outside the kitchen window. She turned her attention back to the cabinet as she reached for a mug.

"Hey, Rave."

With a gasp, the mug tumbled out of her blue hands and clattered to the ground. She whipped around, fire red hair flailing around her face. Her eyes set in cold yellow daggers reflexively until she saw him.

Cool hazel eyes stare her down softly. "How ya been, darlin'?" He leaned casually against the doorjamb, his face neutral though Raven caught the hurt flash in his eyes after they traveled down to the ring on her left hand.

Her glare faded immediately, but otherwise she had no clue how to react. Speechless, Raven bent down to collect the pieces of the shattered mug. Logan stepped forward to help her clean it up. "I have it," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes.

He knelt down in front of her and helped her anyway. "I've missed you," he said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Logan… I'm married."

"Ta **him**." His voice was thick with venom.

"It's not what it seems…" she trailed off as she cupped the ceramic pieces in her hands.

"Then explain it ta me."

Her head remained ducked low as she stood up, leaving Logan kneeling on the tiled floor. She bit her lip, knowing he wouldn't leave without answers.

It'd been six months since she'd seem him last – six months she met Victor and started dating him. They'd talked on the phone sparingly a few times, but Raven had avoided him for the most part. When Kurt came down for the small courthouse wedding, Logan didn't accompany him, sending someone else to chaperone the trip instead. She knew he wouldn't have been able to hide from Logan forever, especially after Victor's company relocated him to the Caldecott so Beth wouldn't be uprooted from the town she'd lived her whole life.

"Raven… please. Talk ta me." Logan stood up from the floor, but didn't make a move to join her by the sink where she was rinsing her hands of any extra dust she may have collected from the floor.

She turned off the water and sighed. "I do owe you that much," she whispered with her back facing him, knowing he would hear her. Logan didn't react, remaining by the counter where the mug had dropped to the floor. Raven could feel him waiting for her to say something – anything else. She reached for a dish towel with a shaky hand. "Things ended so oddly for us, Logan…" she started.

"They weren't over for me," he whispered immediately.

She dried her hands meticulously. "Irene saw you in a vision," she replied abruptly after focusing all her attention on her now dry hands.

"What?"

Raven finally turned to face him. "She saw how you can be. The dark side of you – feral."

For the first time since he entered the house, his eyes looked away from her. His hazel eyes focused out the kitchen door, sad, lonely and laced with guilt.

"I…" she began again. "You know I was afraid, Logan. Plus things with Victor happened so quickly and he could commit and be here for Bethany and me all the time… I _needed_ that type of commitment," she explained, stressing the last part of her plea. She took a small step towards him, hoping that he would divert his eyes back to her. "You know we couldn't keep it going with the kids not knowing."

"We could have told 'em," he harshly whispered, not bothering to look at her still.

"And how well would that have gone over? Do you really think that Kurt would've accepted it, especially with how we'd gone behind his back for so long?" She kept taking tentative tiny steps until she was an arm's length away from him, half-afraid of what he could do. "My children are my top priority, Logan."

"Victor ain't a nice guy, Rave," he muttered. Raven saw his eyes flicker back to her for a moment.

"He's been nothing but caring to me and Bethany," she replied.

His eyes drifted shut and he sighed. When he opened his eyes again, he finally turned his head back to her and made eye contact once again. "I could've done the same."

Raven's lips twisted and she fought the urge to bite her bottom lip again. "I know," she said, defeated. "It wasn't in the cards for us though." Her hand slowly reached up and cradled his face, the coarse stubble of his cheek prickling her palm. She felt a longing towards the feeling, remembering how it felt brushing against her skin as Logan would kiss her so tenderly. "I'll always care about you – you need to know that, Logan."

His eyes gazed deeply into hers, entrapping her. "I know, darlin'," he said shortly, his voice barely above a murmur.

Raven found herself holding her breath, unsure of what to do next. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Logan, no matter how much a voice in her head told her to. Her hand felt heavy against his face as she could practically feel gravity pulling at her wedding ring, screaming at her to drop her hand from his face.

The warmth she felt from Logan was different than Victor though. It always had been.

"I…" she began to drop her hand from his face.

"I know…" he whispered, covering her hand with his own. He held it gently against his cheek and she savored his warmth once again.

Suddenly, the weight of her ring was gone.

All that was left was the crushing of Logan's lips against hers and how amazing it felt to kiss him back.

-----

"We kept seeing each other when we dared to over the next five years," Raven concluded softly. "Victor found out immediately though, to answer your question."

"But ya kept up with seein' Logan…" Rogue whispered, he voice cold and distant. "Whenever Kurt came ta visit, whenever Victor went on a business trip…"

Raven nodded. "There's no way for me to defend my actions here, Bethany."

"Rogue," her daughter corrected darkly. "Ya couldn't leave him though?"

"No… he threatened to hurt you or Kurt if I left."

"Like he wasn't hurtin' me already, Momma!" she snapped. "You say that as if he wouldn't have killed either of us if Ah'd stayed with you any longer!" The walls of the cabin because to shake, reflecting Rogue's mood.

"Darling, please," Raven begged in a soothing voice, her eyes watching the walls. She got up from the couch and joined Rogue on the floor. She tentatively wrapped her arms around her daughter, unsure if Rogue would recoil from her touch.

To her surprise, Rogue almost seemed to crumble in her arms. The façade of the cabin faded away as Rogue succumbed to her mother's embrace and broke out into sobs.

"Can I explain what I can, even though it won't make much sense to you?"

Rogue nodded weakly into her mother's chest. "Ah promise Ah won't shout anymore," she whispered in a small, childlike voice.

-----

Rogue awoke slowly. Her eyes protested against the morning sun as its beams shined carelessly through her window. As she rubbed her eyes, she called out weakly, "Remy?"

She rolled over, crawling to the side of her bed devoid of the early morning sunshine. Remy lay curled up in her sleeping bag slumbering peacefully. As she became more alert, remnants of her conversation with her mother beat against the walls of her mind. She needed to tell someone – anyone. She didn't want to wake Remy though.

With a small smile, she stretched to the drawer of her nightstand. She opened it carefully as the drawer tended to squeak dramatically if tugged the wrong way. She successfully pulled it open silently just enough to slide her slender hand inside to retrieve her thin leather-bound journal. She found her pen by her alarm clock, which read just past 8:30 in bright indigo numbers.

Rogue rolled over onto her left side and propped her head against her arms as she opened the book. She flipped to a fresh page and wrote down _Day 1564_ in black ink.

She skipped a line and began with the words _Momma's affair with Logan should've been less than a shock to me, looking at all the clues now. Then again, I had only just turned five when it started…_

She began to detail everything she and her mother had discussed while she had seemingly slept without worry. As her pen scribbled across the page, finished the line, went to the next, finished another and so on furiously, the pressure in Rogue's head began to fade away. As she poured out word after word, sentence after sentence, page after page, she remembered why she loved keeping a journal so much.

She was almost on her sixth page when a groan interrupted her thoughts. She halted mid sentence as she heard rustling beside her bed. Without twisting around, she whispered, "Remy?" The movement persisted for another short moment and ceased completely. Rogue turned back to her journal without missing a beat and continued her train of thought.

Her pen decreased its pace as she wrapped up her thoughts. As time went on, Rogue's eyelids felt laced with lead, wanting to anchor closed every time she blinked them.

_I'm feeling so worn out again,_ she wrote. _Then again, I guess I did wake up a little earlier than anticipated, especially with how I passed out last night. I don't even remember getting changed let alone when I got tucked in, though I assume Remy took care of that bit._

Her handwriting turned progressively sloppier. She hazily reread her last sentence and only truly recognized the 'R' in Remy.

_Back to sleep for Roguey._

------

An hour or so later after Rogue had fallen back asleep, Remy picked his head up from his pillow groggily. As he sat up, a yawn moaned its way past his lips as he rubbed the sleepy haze out of his eyes. He blinked wearily at the clock on Rogue's night stand, making out 10:45 in the indigo green.

He twisted his head around and saw Rogue's body still curled up asleep, her back to him. A lazy smirk crawled across his face. He pushed himself out of his makeshift bed by using Rogue's bed as leverage – though gently so as not to rustle her at all. Carefully, he tiptoed around her bed to where he could see her face.

"Hey, Rogue," he whispered, his eyes grazing over her journal splayed out in front of her. Delicately, he eased out the fountain pen lying in her boneless hand. _She must've fallen asleep while writin'_, he concluded as he closed the cap on the pen.

He knelt down beside the bed, resting his head on her mattress. "Chere?" He poked her shoulder playfully.

She shuddered at the contact and a moment later her eyes began to flutter open. "Hmm…" she murmured. Her green eyes focused on his after blinking away what sleep she could. "Mornin', Remy," she greeted with a small smile.

"Bon matin, p'tite." He smiled back warmly without lifting his head off the bed. His eyes left hers to motion to her journal with a quick glance. "See y' were up earlier."

The smile faded from her face as she slowly sat up. Her hand slid over the leather bound book protectively. "Yeah," she whispered as she closed the journal. "Ah had a lot on mah mind after wakin' up earlier an' Ah didn't want ta bother ya."

"Y' know y' wouldn' have."

"Ah know, but ya know how Ah am."

He smiled softly. "Oui. I know."

With a faint giggle, she gathered the book in her hands and twisted over to the other side of the bed to deposit it back into the drawer. She pushed the drawer closed with a loud squeak. "She told me more of what happened with her an' Logan," she sighed once she'd settled back against her pillows.

"Really?" Remy stood up from the floor and sat down on the bed facing her. "What did she say?"

Rogue took a moment to collect herself and took a deep breath. "It kept goin' up until six months ago," she recalled mechanically. "They were tryin' ta keep it from Victor but they couldn't hide it with his senses." Upon Remy's inquisitive look, she explained, "He's got – had the same power as Logan. Fast healin', enhanced senses, that sort of thing."

"So he'd smell Logan on her?"

Rogue nodded. "Yeah. He found out immediately, but she didn't stop. Neither did Logan." Her voice turned colder.

"Why did she stay wit' Victor den?" Remy asked cautiously. He could feel anger seeping over her as she recalled the conversation.

"'Cause he threatened her – an' Kurt an' me. Said that if she left him he'd hunt us all down," she spoke coarsely, connecting his threats to the grave reality of the last few weeks.

Remy feared her anger would boil over until he felt the front begin to crumble. Sorrow overcame the anger, washing it away. He watched as her lip began to tremble. "An' that's why he-" Her head fell, white tendrils hiding her face from Remy. "That's why he beat both of us. An' why he…"

"Chere, y' don' have t' say it."

She looked up again, tears falling freely down her face. "He raped me because they **didn't stop**, Remy. She didn't stop seein' Logan an' didn't stop Victor from hurtin' me, even though she said she wanted to be with him because he was carin' towards the two of us. She wanted ta give me the father Ah'd never had an' couldn't do it with Logan because it was so _complicated_," she mocked angrily. She clenched the bed sheets tightly. They twisted underneath her fingers and Remy was sure that if she'd had access to his power she would've charged the entire bed under her touch. Her anger was back, bubbling through the sorrow and depression. It beat against his empathy, threatening to consume him. He knew he had to remain neutral for her sake though.

He extended a hand to her, but she didn't take it, nor did she move. Her breathing hitched in her throat as she tried her best to not hyperventilate. She'd thought writing everything down would've helped her, but saying the words out loud brought back every negative emotion she'd felt while speaking to her mother.

"Did y' maman tell Logan 'bout de abuse?"

Rogue slowly shook her head and reached up to hastily rub her tears away. "He figured it out, though. Momma would have bruises that she couldn't cover up because they were too much foh her powers or smell differently ta him, she told me." (1)

"What did he do after dat?"

"He wanted her ta leave Victor, take me with her an' come ta the institute."

"An' she didn' because-"

"-She was afraid, with good reason obviously," Rogue concluded for him. "With all of us up here, she knew we wouldn't be safe." She tucked a few white strands of hair behind her ear. "After Ah ran away, she realized that Ah was safe here an' started thinkin' of how she could get away herself, an' with us separated there was less of a chance of bein' harmed by Victor. Logan helped her an' kept in contact with her that way. But Vic found her anyway," she added softly, but fiercely.

Remy reached to place a hand on her shoulder. She shrank underneath his touch and didn't lift her head up. "'M sure she understands why y' didn't talk t' her all dose years."

Slowly, she looked up, her eyes glimmering with confusion. "It's like… Ah've wanted ta fohgive her. Maybe part of me had over these last four years, but every new piece Ah find out is makin' it harder an' harder ta feel the regret that mah conscience is pushin' foh. It's takin' everythin' in me ta not hate Logan a li'l bit foh all of this. It was as much his fault as it was her." She snorted before adding, "Then he just had ta wait till she was dead ta tell me an' Kurt about it. He only had four and a half freakin' years ta say somethin'!" she fumed.

Remy remained silent, mulling over her words. It was just a little too convenient that Logan disclosed the past of the affair right after Raven died. Who knows – they may have never fully put the pieces together if Rogue hadn't absorbed her mother as she died.

"Ah think Ah need ta avoid Logan foh a bit… get my head wrapped around this," Rogue mused aloud.

"Y'll get y' chance," Remy admitted, pulling his hand away from her shoulder. Her eyebrows knitted together, silently asking him to explain. "I went t' talk t' him an' Henri last night after y' fell asleep, 'cept Henri had sent Logan t' find out more 'bout Essex Technologies b'fore I got dere."

Her eyes instantly softened. "Where did he go?"

"Seattle. Dunno f' how long," he shrugged.

"Ah see…" If possible, her shoulders slumped even more. "Did ya talk ta Hank about anythin' else?"

"Oui. He explained some t'ings about y' powers an' all wit' me."

She nodded, her eyes drifting away. "Ah take it that it wasn't anythin' good, raht?"

Remy winced. "I wouldn' put it like dat, chere…"

She ran a hand through her hair shakily, sighing. The long auburn strands cascaded over her shoulder, highlighted by the eerie white. "Ah'd ask ya about it, but Ah don't think Ah can handle much more after only bein' awake foh so long." Her voice was soft and forlorn.

Mustering his best smile, Remy suddenly stood up from the bed. "Why don' we get some breakfast an' do somet'in' fun t'day den?"

She blinked up at him, confused and intrigued by the abrupt change of topic. "Like what?"

"We'll figure somet'in' out. C'mon," he said, knowing better than to extend a bare hand to her. He walked ahead of her to the door of her room. "Y' get y'self ready an' I'll be right outside waitin'."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Jus' give me a second then, Remy," she told him as she threw the blankets off her legs and stood up. "Ah'll just need ta grab pants an' gloves."

"Take y' time, Rogue," he said. He flashed another disarming grin before he shut the door behind him. He leaned his back against the wall across the hallway, his smile fading and replaced with a sigh and a discontent frown. He rubbed his face roughly, trying to shake off the remnants of Rogue's emotions that seemed to attach themselves to him.

_Is it selfish f' me t' be relieved dat she didn' give me de chance t' explain all de scientific merde?_ He thought coldly, running a hand through his hair. _Seems like de empathy's been in overdrive since de incident_. _I don' t'ink I can take anymore serious talk dis mornin' eit'er._ He closed his eyes, trying to filter out any extra emotions he felt beating against him and tried to focus on his own. Slowly, the slight anger and confusion beating against him from Rogue faded and he brought his relief forward, trying his best to let it wash over him. His muscles that he didn't even realized had tensed up began to relax and his shoulders slumped against the wall.

Over the years he, along with Rogue's help, had developed ways of blocking out emotions when dealing with his empathy. With the telepathy she'd absorbed in the past, the two of them worked on simple meditation skills that Remy could use in instances such as these. Rogue knew how overbearing her emotions could be, along with the constant shifts in moods for everyone else living in the institute. The little techniques were always enough for Remy to center himself and discover his true disposition once again.

Just as an air of calmness completely swept over him, Rogue's door creaked open in front of him. His eyes fluttered open as Rogue stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. "Ya okay, Remy?"

He silently gulped. "Oui. Jus' gettin' m'head t'get'er," he whispered truthfully.

"Oh," she mouthed inaudibly, realizing what he was referring to. "Ah'm-"

"Don' be," he said, his smile returning. "I'm feelin' better now. How are you?"

She tugged at her white cotton gloves, making sure there was no skin showing between her sleeves and the cuff of the gloves. "Hungry," she giggled. "Ya think there's anythin' left from this mornin'?"

He offered her his hand, which she slid her hand into immediately. He squeezed it gently, eliciting a soft laugh from her. "Guess we should go find out."

"An' if not, maybe we can coax Jean in ta makin' us somethin'," she mused as they began down the hallway.

They reached the top of the stairs within a minute. Remy could tell that Rogue was still dwelling on the morning's conversation but was trying her best to stay upbeat. When she smiled, her eyes didn't quite twinkle the way he knew they could. Deciding it best to remain off the topic, Remy loosened his grip on her hand to wiggle his fingers into her palm.

"That tickles," she giggled, using her free hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"Dat's kinda de point, chere."

"Good foh you then, you succeeded. Now stop," she laughed as she laced her fingers with his again and held on tight. She looked up to him and beamed. "Try it now."

_Dere's_ _de smile I was lookin' for._ "Y' win, Rogue."

She smiled for a moment longer before her face fell neutral again. "Ah really do hate this. We both used ta be happy – Ah'm sure of it."

"Seems like f'ever ago, dough, doesn' it," Remy murmured as they reached the bottom of the staircase. "We'll find it again, chere."

"Ah know." She squeezed his hand again. "Can't blame me foh wishin' that we weren't so messed up," she added, laughing briefly.

Remy shrugged. "Non, I can'. But I never would've met y' if we weren'."

She stopped walking and stared at him. "Ah think that's the sweetest thing ya've ever said ta me," she said, her eyes sparkling.

"Can' be," he denied.

"Ah think it is," she laughed. She resumed walking, hugging his arm closer to her body. "Thank you."

"Don' t'ank me f' sayin' t'ings like dat. I am y'-"

"No," she stopped him. "Thank ya foh puttin' a better perspective on the whole thing. It's really what Ah needed ta hear raht now." She grinned up at him.

Remy smirked. "Well, in dat case, y' welcome."

TBC…

---------------------

What's this, I updated this _plus_ posted a new story! Blame the strep throat I've had for the last week – my four day vacation from work has given me plenty of time to write.

I jest… you guys and you're amazing reviews actually motivated me to get this out so quickly (by Courtney standards, anyway :o) Honestly though, you have no idea how great it felt to see loyal readers after a two year hiatus, plus the new readers as well. I can't tell you all how much I love you! grins

Quick note in reference to Mystique's mentioned bruises:

(1). This is a far stretch, but I got this idea from the movies where Mystique retained the scars she'd received from Wolverine in the first movie, regardless of which shape she was in. I figured that maybe some hurts just go too deep to just be able to cover up.

Oooh! And the whole beginning part with the genetics… Yeah, I have NO clue about any of that stuff, so I'm hoping that it was somewhat believable… Maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit, but comparing my scientific mumbo-jumbo to other stories that _really_ seem to know what they're talking about… I feel a touch stupid.

So hopefully the next one will come just as quickly, seeing as how I've had the first part of Chapter 28 in my head since _before_ I finished this chapter. As always, I love hearing from you all, so don't be afraid to click that little button down there… :o)

Courtney.


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